Adventures in Matchmaking and Chance Taking
by Merry Faerie
Summary: The gang sets out on a whimsical adventure that, unbeknownst to them, will alter the course of their lives forever. A tale of escapades, surprises, pranks, and of course, falling in love. Serena & Darien, Senshi & Shittenou. AU
1. Unexpected and Lethal Invitation

Hey everybody! Well this is my first fanfiction. I'd love to get lots of reviews but preferably no flames. Don't think I can handle those yet. This fic takes place in Japan. The English and Japanese is very mixed up, such as the fact that the character's surnames are written the way Americans write them. Well just ignore that. Here's a little overview of all the main characters:

Serena Usagi Tsukino- 16 going on 17

Minako Aino- 18

Lita Makoto Kino- 18

Rei Hino- 17

Ami Mizuno- 16

Darien Mamoru Chiba- 21

Jadeite Ito- 21, Serena's cousin

Zoisite Aino- 20, Minako's brother

Nephrite Tanaka- 22

Kunzite Saito- 23

Andrew Motoki Furuhata- 22

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SM.

----

Darien ran a hand through his jet-black hair for the hundredth time, not hearing three teenage girls sigh wistfully as they watched him. He continued to read the pink piece of paper that he held in his hand. _What does this mean? _Does _it mean anything?_ Darien tried to walk to his seat, but because of the fact that he was still engrossed in the piece of paper, he ran into the Crown Arcade counter.

"Oof!" he said, clutching his stomach. He proceeded to slip on the recently waxed floor, ending up sprawled on said floor, face down. All eyes were on him and the whole arcade was silent until...

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Shut up Andrew," a muffled voice commanded from the floor.

"Haha...here let me...give you a...haha...hand there Darien." Andrew jumped over the counter and pulled Darien to his feet.

"Ha, who knew that an invitation to Serena's party would have you acting as clumsy as h-."Andrew stopped. Two midnight-blue eyes were glaring murderously at him. Andrew gulped.

"Uh hehe, I'll shut up now."

Darien slumped onto his regular stool in the Crown Arcade. He looked down into his regular mug of black coffee. _Well aren't I a predictable guy. Unlike certain Meatball Heads._

"Gotten over the initial shock yet?" asked Andrew, his eyes still twinkling with mirth.

"What does it mean Andrew?"

Andrew picked up the invitation with mock seriousness and read it out loud.

"You are cordially invited to Serena Tsukino's 17th birthday celebration. The event takes place on June 30th at 5:00 PM. RSVP is not necessary but if you require directions, please call 597-4291."

Andrew looked at Darien who was deep in thought.

"Well what part has got you so befuddled? Do you need me to look up the definition of 'cordially' for you? Or maybe you'd like to know what RSVP stands for?"

"Argh Andrew! Would you please explain to me _why_ Serena invited me to her birthday party? I mean, we hardly ever have any normal conversations. I thought I was just an acquaintance!"

"And sparring partner," Andrew added.

"Thank you," Darien said sarcastically, "Well why did she invite me?"

Andrew shook his head wisely, a grin appearing on his face.

"Ya know Darien, I always thought that you were the smarter one of us two."

"And I still am, considering what a cheerful idiot you are," growled Darien.

The blonde ignored him. "Anyway, it's not that hard to understand. Serena is such a good-natured person that she thought this would be a good opportunity for you two to get to know each other. She wants to show you that she wants to be your friend. Why that is I shall never know. Serena's parents like you and trust you. Besides, she thinks that a big gathering like this will do you good."

Darien gaped at him. "How did you figure all of that out?"

Andrew winked. "I know women very well, you see. That and the fact that Serena told me the same thing when _I_ asked her why she had invited you."

Darien smacked him upside the head. "Well Mr. I-know-everything-about-women, you are going to help me."

Andrew stared blankly. "With what?"

"Since you are _such_ an expert, you can help me shop for a birthday present for Serena."

"Okay! We'll go now. Hey Lizzie, take over the arcade for a few hours. I need to help Darien do some shopping for a _girl."_

Lizzie giggled and Darien had the grace to blush. All eyes were on him for a second time. Everyone there knew that the seemingly impassive Darien almost never dated. He angrily smacked Andrew upside the head again.

"Ouch, will you quit that?!"

"I would if you would quit acting like such an idiot! Oh wait, you don't need to act!"

They continued arguing on their way out of the arcade, still not noticing the three sighing teenage girls.

"Does this mean that that gorgeous man has a girlfriend?" one of them asked.

The other two sighed unhappily and nodded. Then they all sighed in unison again.

"Hey, you girls," came Lizzie's voice, "Quit sighing over Darien. You're creating a distraction. Besides," she added mischievously, "Serena and Darien are meant to be and they're totally infatuated with each other."

Two of the girls stormed out of the arcade, one of them glaring back at her with flashing red eyes. But the remaining one just sat in her seat, looking confused.

"What the hell does 'infatuated' mean?" she asked.

Lizzie sighed in disgust at the airhead. Practically everyone in the arcade threw dirty looks at her. They were getting very tired of stupid sighing girls.

"Hehe, sorry about that," said Lizzie meekly. She proceeded to wipe the counter as her brother Andrew so often did when he was waiting for something exciting to happen.

---

Yay! Finished with the first chapter! It didn't turn out as wonderful as I planned but it's OK. Please tell me what you think of it. This chapter is more of an introduction so there's no romance in it and not much humor yet. I promise it'll get better. See ya!


	2. Window Shopping with a Maniac Or Two

I'm back! Didja miss me? '**crickets chirp'** Damn crickets think they're comedy relief or something. What with exploding pipes and allergic reactions you'd think I wouldn't have time to type this. Well I proved you wrong! Anyway hopefully this is better than my last chapter. That was more of an introduction. Read on!

_thoughts that tell the character what he/she doesn't want to hear_

DISCLAIMER: I don't own it so get off my case!

---

"Tell me!"

"I already told you Mina!" said Serena.

"Well that's just a cover-up story!"

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

"Is NOT!"

"Will you two just shut the hell up?!" screamed a very pissed off Rei. Her violet eyes were blazing and Serena was sure that "Dragon Lady," as Chad called Rei, was going to live up to her nickname. Serena inched away in case the raven-haired priestess started to breathe fire. "I am _trying_ to meditate!"

"Sheesh calm down Pyro. We'll go outside and scream there," said Serena calmly.

"Fine. Oh and DON'T call me Pyro!"

"It suits you."

"Does not!"

"Oh yeah? Remember that incident with the voodoo dolls and fire?"

Rei remembered perfectly.

**--Flashback--**

"Oh great spirits of the flame," chanted Rei in a shrill voice, "I seek revenge on two foul and cunning yellow-hairs."

She whipped out two dolls and plunged them in and out of the fire. Then she danced a complicated dance around the fire, still chanting. Serena, Lita, Mina, and Ami walked into the room and froze at the sight before them. Then they all burst into laughter with the exception of Amy.

"You know Rei," Ami said, "Voodoo practice is very unstable. Many believe that it is a form of witchcraft." Which brought on another burst of laughter.

**--End Flashback--**

"I don't remember a thing," said Rei shortly.

"Well I do. Now that I think of it," said Serena thoughtfully, "one of those dolls looked a lot like me."

Mina shook her head in exasperation. "Who else do you know with this blonde "Meatball" hairstyle?" she asked, patting said hair. "The other doll was Jadeite. You two played that prank on Rei for April Fools' Day so she wanted to get back at you. Haha remember-"

"Enough reminiscing!" screamed Rei, who was tired of the embarrassing memories. "Now OUT!" she yelled, jabbing an index finger towards the exit.

"Okay, don't have a cow Rei."

The two blondes walked out of the temple and sat on its steps. The wind blew at their hair and they looked at the last of the cherry blossoms on the trees surrounding the temple.

"Now admit it Serena," said Mina, interrupting the moment.

"There's nothing to admit."

"Sure there is. You invited Darien for a reason so spill."

"Mina, I _told_ you why."

"Hey you can't lie about love to the goddess of love!" chirped Mina, flashing her a 'V.'

Serena raised her eyebrows. "Goddess of love? Since when?"

"I went to this guy who tells you who you were in your past life. _I'm_ the reincarnation of the goddess, Venus."

Serena made a sound of disbelief. "Right. Well back on topic, there is no love for you to detect so stop trying to detect it!"

Mina looked at her friend thoughtfully. "Whatever you say Serena, I think you have feelings for him."

"That's BS, Mina. I do NOT have feeling for that idiot."

"If he's such a idiot, then why invite him?"

Serena didn't answer immediately. _Maybe Mina's right. _Do_ I have feelings for Darien? We fight all the time, but maybe that fighting means something. And Darien sure is sexy Uh, whatever. Darien's a grown man, but then again, he sure acts like an immature boy. Around _you

"Yoohoo, Venus to Sere, come in Sere."

Mina waved her hand in front of Serena's face, startling her out of her thoughts. Serena shook her head and looked at Mina.

"What happened to you?" asked Mina.

"It's called thinking Mina. Know anything about it?"

"Har, har."

"And it's Earth to Sere, not Venus to Sere."

Mina just shrugged. "Well like I said, I _am_ the goddess, Venus. Serena," she said gently, "I really think you should give Darien a chance. All of your little spats don't really mean anything. Darien can be a gentleman once you get to know him."

Serena heaved a huge sigh of exasperation but nodded. "Okay, I'll give him a chance."

"Okay!" Mina said cheerfully. "Hey we have to go shopping for your party soon. It's in a week! Wanna go now?" Mina was always up for a shopping expedition.

"Yeah okay. But I want the rest of the girls to come too."

"I'll call Lita and Ami to tell them."

"That's the easy part. How are we going to get Rei to come?"

Both girls looked at each other with fearful looks on their faces.

On the other side of town, Darien and Andrew were window shopping for Serena's birthday gift. Andrew had insisted on taking Darien to an outdoor shopping plaza in Tokyo that was constantly bustling with people.

"Hey take a look at those high heels. Pretty classy huh?"

Darien snorted. "For the queen of klutziness? I don't think so."

"Picky, picky. Ouch, sorry," Andrew apologized when a tall brunette nearly crashed into him. _Wait, she looked familiar_. But Darien didn't give him a chance to look back at the girl.

"So what did _you_ get for Serena?" Darien asked curiously.

"A 2,000 Yen (app.:US $18) certificate for food and games at the Arcade."

"Ha, perfect for her. Serena can do the two things that she's best at, at the same time. Eating and playing video games!"

Andrew studied Darien with a slight frown on his face. "Darien why are you such a jerk to Serena?"

Darien glanced at Andrew and sighed. _I guess I'll try to explain even though I barely know myself._

"I dunno Andrew. Whenever I see her I just have this urge to infuriate her. Maybe I just want attention," he admitted sheepishly, "Besides, Meatball Head's cute when she's ma-"

Darien mentally smacked himself. _You complete IDIOT! You'll never hear the end of this. Anyway Serena is NOT cute.She's just adorable_ _Who asked you?_

Darien had to use all of his self-control to keep himself from slapping Andrew's grin off of his face. "You think Serena's cute, Darien?"

"Uh..."

"Actually I'll have to agree with you there."

Darien jerked his head up so fast that he had a head rush. _WHAT?! Andrew thinks _my _Meatball Head is cute? Ugh where did that come from? Me_

"What? You think she's cute," asked Darien, trying to keep his voice calm.

Andrew immediately recognized the jealousy in Darien's eyes and mentally cheered himself on. _Go Andrew! Go Andrew!_

"Don't get so protective Darien! Serena's like a little sister to me. I'd _never_ consider dating her. Besides, I have Rita remember?"

"Uh right, whatever."

"Let's just drop the subject okay?"

"Yeah," said Darien, relieved. Little did he know what was going through his best friend's devious mind. _It looks like I have a little matchmaking to do. Woohoo! _True, Andrew had realized how much time the two spent bickering (who didn't?), but he'd never thought it could be because of an attraction.

Neither Darien nor Andrew had realized how far they had walked. Andrew glanced up at the name of the store that they stood in front of. Then he did a double take. An evil grin appeared on his face, one so frightening that two little girls who saw it ran away screaming. Darien didn't notice what Andrew was looking at because he was scanning the stores on the other side of the street.

"Hey, wanna cross the street and look through the shops there?" he asked. He looked at Andrew and winced at the horrific grin on the blonde's face. _Uh-oh. Trouble._

"Actually Darien," Andrew said in a cool, calm voice that didn't fool Darien, "I was thinking of looking in this store!" As he said this, he pulled Darien into the store before he could read the name at the top.

3 3 3 3 3 3 3

"Mina, are Ami and Lita meeting us at that store?" Serena asked, studying the many stores with interest.

"Yup."

"And what's the plan?"

"First we're meeting those two at Party Pandemonium to get decorations and stuff. Then we'll make our way to that awesome new store on Coastal Avenue for new outfits for the party!"

"We'll never get home," grumbled Rei, who had been pried from her seat in front of the meditative fire to go shopping. Not without a fight of course. Mina and Serena's bruises were beginning to show up nicely. Rei hated shopping with a passion and longed for the day to end.

"Oh ye of little filth," said Mina.

Serena and Rei sweatdropped. "It's 'ye of little faith,' Mina," corrected Rei.

"That too," chirped Mina, not caring whatsoever. "After we're done at that shop, we'll drop Serena off at the ice cream parlor and go and buy her presents.

Rei snorted. "We'll never get her out of there once she goes in."

"Well considering the fact that we got _you_ away from your precious fire, Pyro, we have proven that nothing is impossible."

"Well, well NYAH!"

"Nyah!"

Mina rolled her eyes as she watched Serena and Rei begin another of their daily tongue wars.

---

'**Merry gets up and begins to dance'** Woohoo I'm done. I liked this chapter a lot better than the first one. PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!


	3. Thrown in All Directions

I'm so happy! The All-American Rejects are releasing their new album this fall! I love their songs. Okay back to the present. Anyway. Here's the new chap, hope you like it!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything except the clothes on my back. Oh and this story.

oooooooo

Serena, Mina, and Rei walked into Party Pandemonium, the two blondes with eagerness on their faces, and the dark-haired girl with the look that she usually saved for PMS.

"Hey guys, over here!" came a voice.

The three turned to see two other girls. Lita waved vigorously, her green eyes twinkling with good humor. A smiling Ami stood beside her, looking even more petite than usual in comparison to the tall, athletic brunette. Serena tackled her two friends in a massive hug that nearly floored the blue-haired genius.

"Cool it Meatball Head, you act as if you haven't seen Lita and Ami in a year instead of two days."

"Nyah!"

"Ny-"

"Now don't start that again!" said Mina. "Once a day is enough!" She looked towards Ami and Lita with relief and gratitude. "Thank Kami you two are here. I've had enough of them."

"Maybe we should go shop in two groups instead of all together. For now at least," Ami said quietly.

"Good idea Ami. I think we'll have to split you two bad little girls up," said Lita, waggling her finger at Serena and Rei severely. She sounded so much like a mother reprimanding her children that they all laughed.

"Serena and Ami, you go look for plates and utensils," said Mina, taking command. "Rei, Lita, and I will get the balloons, streamers, and all that stuff. Got that?"

All of them, including Ami, saluted her and in unison said "Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

Hiding a smile at her friends' antics, Mina put on a stern face and shouted, "At_ten_tion! _Two_ lines! For_ward_ march! Hup two three four!" The girls marched military style to their assigned aisles, not caring that everyone in the store was staring at them. It was good to be together again.

* * *

_Must escape._ Darien tried to find a way of escape, trying not to look at the ghastly clothes surrounding him. He looked towards the exit hopefully, but there was a pack of women laughing and gossiping in front of it. _Hold on, are those women or hyenas? Never mind that! I have to get out of here._ He tried to run for the door, but Andrew held him with an iron grip by the arm.

"Andrew I will never forgive you for this as long as I live!"

Andrew just smiled. "You think I'm going to let you leave just because you're going to hate me for the rest of your life?"

"Yes I thought that, before I realized that you treasure my embarrassment over our friendship!"

"Tough luck buddy. Ah look, someone to help us. Excuse me, miss?"

A busty, middle-aged woman dressed in extremely skimpy clothes headed straight for them, like a hawk hovering towards its prey.

"Welcome to Nameya's." Nameya's— a store notorious for its huge assortment of lingerie, underwear, and er, other very bad things. Its motto was 'If it's not naughty, it's not Nameya's.'

"Did you two gentlemen need some help? We have a sale today, everything is 20 off in our homosexual's department, if you'd like to browse. You two make a lovely couple you know." Both men blushed a deep crimson. _I definitely didn't bank on that_, thought Andrew. _Darien's gonna hate me even more for this, if that's possible.  
_  
"Er, no actually we're both strictly heterosexual and have no, uh, interest in one another. My friend here," Andrew said pointing at the still blushing Darien, "needs to get a birthday present for a girl and-"

"Say no more, I understand perfectly. Come with me young man, and I'll show you our new nightgowns. They just arrived."

"No I-"

But the woman simply couldn't process the word 'no.' She literally dragged Darien over to a rack of sheer nightgowns. Darien shot Andrew a look that said, "You won't live to regret this." Andrew pretended not to see the look, but all the same he was worried. _Hmm. Might as well get Rita something for a welcome back present from Africa. Oooh what about that leopard print outfit?  
_

* * *

'**POP**!'

"AIIEEEEEEE!" shrieked Serena, jumping three feet in the air.

"Hey, lower the decibels, Meatball Head," said Rei, holding the newly popped balloon.

"I would if you would stop popping those infernal balloons right next to my ear!"

"I think Serena's right Rei. You've already used up quite a few of the balloons," said Ami.

Rei grumbled something that sounded a lot like "ruin all my fun" but she stopped harassing Serena.

"So where's this new shop, Mina?" asked Lita.

"We're almost there," Mina said, leading them along Coastal Avenue.

Rei looked at her skeptically. "You keep saying that, but we've been walking for-"

"We're here!" Mina smirked at Rei before they all entered the building.

"Hello, welcome to Silver Streak where the clothes are always chick!" recited an employee, reading off of a scrap of paper. The girls looked at her quizzically. "Don't you mean 'chic'?" asked Lita.

"Oh, haha, yeah that's what I mean," the woman said, embarrassed. "May I help you?"

"Yes we're looking for party dresses for our friend's birthday party," chimed Mina.

"Right this way," she said leading them to a corner with cocktail dresses and the like. "If you need anything just ask," she said, walking over to the entrance, to greet someone else.

"Okay let's get started!" said Mina.

45 minutes later(-..-)

Ami, Lita, Rei and Serena lay on their stomachs, outside of the dressing rooms. All of them had bored looks on their faces.

"How about this one?"

They all groaned. Without looking up Serena said, "Mina this is the 18th outfit that you've tried on! Just pick one already!"

"Well, at least look at this one." They all lifted their heads. Mina was wearing a bright yellow halter-top and a knee-length, golden ruffle skirt. The outfit looked as if it was made for her.

"It's great!"

"It looks lovely."

"Cool!"

"At least it's not as slutty as the other 17." That was Rei, of course. Mina glared at her but Rei just smiled. "You know I'm kidding. That's the one." Mina nodded, twirling in front of a mirror. "Who wants to help me hang up the other outfits that I tried on?"

They all groaned again and continuously hit their heads against the floor. Mina looked at them all, surprised. "Hey I think you should stop now. Doesn't that hurt? Guys!"

* * *

By the time Darien had escaped 'that evil woman' as he called her, Andrew was holding a bright pink shopping bag in his hand.

"Decided to look into that sale Andrew?"

"No, it's for Rita."

Then Darien remembered that he had been planning the homicide of a certain blonde and decided to carry it out. Very soon Andrew was in a headlock, and Darien walked him out of the store.

"You thought that was funny, eh Andrew?" he asked in a quiet and dangerous voice. Andrew just silently prayed. "Do you know what that evil woman suggested to me after displaying one of those horrific, skimpy outfits? She said, 'Your girlfriend is gonna have a hard time keeping you off of her if she wears this, huh? But then again, I'm sure that's what you want.' I can't even imagine Serena in that kind of outfit!" But this was a lie. Darien had indeed imagined Serena in quite a few of the outfits that the woman had shown him. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop himself. Andrew seemed to know this.

"You sure about that Darien?" he asked unwisely. Darien got Andrew into a tighter headlock and the poor man couldn't breathe. _Oh please somebody save me. Somebody, anybody!  
_  
**'WHACK!'  
**  
"Owwwwwwww!"

"You horrible hooligan! Trying to kill this poor young man! Take that and that!"

Andrew burst into laughter as he watched the old lady chase Darien down the sidewalk soundly smacking him with her massive purse.

* * *

When the five girls finally emerged from the Silver Streak they all carried new outfits. Mina had gotten the yellow and gold outfit as planned. Lita had an outfit from India called a salwar kameez ("A salwhat?" asked Serena). It was made up of three parts: a dark green top that reached right below her knees, dark green pants, and a matching shawl to wear around the neck. Golden designs adorned the top. The girls had actually been able to persuade Ami to buy a dress that wasn't blue. It was a sleeveless lavender dress that reached her ankles and came with a silver belt studded with false diamonds. Rei had gotten a fiery red dress to match her personality. It had spaghetti straps and reached mid-thigh. Serena's dress was silver and white. It had off-the- shoulder white straps and the rest was silver. The dress reached her knees and was made of a beautiful cloud-like material.

"Now off to the ice cream parlor," said Serena excitedly.

Rei rolled her eyes. "Is that all you ever think about Meatball Head? Food?"

Serena chose to ignore the comment and skipped across the street to the ice cream parlor. She was inside before the rest of the girls and was looking for a place to sit when...

"Hey, Serena!"

Serena looked to her right, where the voice had come from, and shrieked.

"Jadeite!" She threw herself on the good-looking blonde.

"Ers ice chosee yotoo butcran roogeroff?" came Jadeite's muffled voice. Serena got off, though how she understood him, _she_ didn't even know. Jadeite grinned up at his cousin and after planting a kiss on his cheek, she sat down.

"Are you coming to my party?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Is Rei coming?"

"And you'd miss it if Rei wasn't coming?" teased Serena.

"'Course not, Rei's just a bonus," he said and Serena giggled. "Plan on asking her out?" she asked. Before he could answer, the bell on the door jingled and four girls walked in and headed for Jadeite's table.

"Hello Lita, Mina, Ami," he said politely. "Hey there Rei," he added, grinning flirtatiously. She just tossed her hair and gave a 'humph.'

"Ladies, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Nephrite." Serena hadn't noticed the solemn man sitting across from her cousin. His chocolate-brown eyes appeared to be sizing them up as he nodded at them. _He's handsome,_ thought Serena, _but too quiet and serious_. All the girls said hi and he nodded. A phone began ringing and Nephrite took out his cell phone.

"Will you excuse me?" he asked, and walked out of the parlor.

"Who's he Jed? You're latest love interest?" asked Rei snidely.

"Oh sweet Rei, you know that that position has always been filled by you," Jadeite replied suavely. All the girls except Ami and Rei sighed with dreamy looks in their eyes. Serena could have sworn that she saw a hint of red on Rei's cheeks though. "Actually Neph and I were waiting for Zoisite and one of our friends, Kunzite so that we could go and shop for Serena's birthday gifts."

"So are we!" squealed Mina.

"You're waiting for Zoisite and Kunzite?"

"No, we're going to go shop for Serena's birthday presents! Blondes," she added rolling her eyes.

"You're one of them, dear Mina," Jaedite reminded her.

"Oh yeah, hehe."

"Women," said a new voice. Zoisite had entered the parlor unnoticed.

"You're one of them, dear Zoisite," Jadeite and Mina said in unison.

Zoisite grinned good-naturedly. It was true that Zoisite had a feminine look to him, though that did not stop him from flirting with the women, and according to him, women loved him all the more for his looks. He gave Ami a roguish wink and she blushed prettily.

Nephrite came back into the parlor. "That was Kunzite," he told Jadeite and Zoisite. "He got held up at work and said for us to shop without him. Personally, I think he just wants to get out of shopping with you two," he said gravely. They threw Jadeite's napkins at him. Nephrite turned to Serena. "I'm not sure if Jadeite told you, but he invited Kunzite and me to your party."

"Guess I should have told you before Sere," said Jadeite, apologetically.

"The more the merrier," said Serena warmly. Everyone smiled. She was such a sweet and understanding person to everyone. _But there are exceptions,_ thought Jadeite. _Darien sure gets under her skin.  
_  
Just then an old lady's shriek rang out. Then a scream of anguish came. It sounded as if the old lady was screaming 'ruthless ruffian' and that the other person was begging for mercy. Suddenly two figures sped by the parlor, leaving a trail of dust.

"Wonder what that was," said Serena. The others shrugged and began ordering their ice creams.

* * *

I have one word for you: REVIEW! Oh and SOCKS. Yes. 


	4. The Envelope Please

It feels good to be back! And it'll feel a lot better if you get on with reading my masterpiece and praise it to no end! Got that? Hehe. OK here's Chapter 4! :-D Oh one more thing! The symbols separating the story have different meanings. This ---{-0-}--- signifies a change in time. This 33333 means a change of perspective. This :::::: just signifies the beginning or ending of the chapter. OK read on!

Disclaimer: OK I don't own Sailor Moon and this applies to all the other chapters too.

::::::  
  
**'BEEP BEEP'**  
  
Over the years Serena had managed to block out this infernal sound, and today was no exception. The blonde continued to let out contented little snores, oblivious to her alarm clock and the ringing of the doorbell. She would have continued her journeys through LaLaLand if an ear-piercing roar had not woken her from her peaceful slumber.  
  
"Serena!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get your butt down here right now!"  
  
Poor Serena gave a yelp and jumped out of bed, landing face down on the wooden floor.  
  
"Ouch."  
  
The screaming did not stop and it was the only noise that could keep Serena awake. She rushed down the stairs and slid to a stop. There in front of her were Amy, Lita, Mina, Jadeite, Zoisite, and Rei who of course, had provided the wake-up call.  
  
Not being a morning person, Serena was groggy, confused, and looked very unkempt.  
  
"Very fashionable Serena," said a smirking Rei. "Lopsided meatballs and bunny pajamas." All of them smiled as they took in her appearance.  
  
"**'yawn'** whadder you guys doing 'ere?" Serena asked rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.  
  
"Serena, it's June 30th!" said Lita, expecting Serena to be excited.  
  
"So?"  
  
"And only three hours until 5:00."  
  
"Uh-huh?"  
  
Rei exploded. "So do you want to have a birthday party or not!?"  
  
Serena slowly processed the outburst. "Party? Oh party! It's my birthday!" She proceeded to do a joyful little jig and her friends just sweat dropped.  
  
"Girl, the first thing we need to do is work on your appearance. You look like you just woke up!" said Mina.  
  
"She did," said Zoisite.  
  
"Not the point. The point _is_ that you have to let me do your makeup and then I'll fix your hair. Zoisite wouldn't let me do his hair," she added, pouting.  
  
Zoisite pulled a face of disgust. "Mina, how could you expect me to let you "fix" my hair when_ your_ hair looks like a bird's nest!"  
  
"It does NOT look like a bird's nest. It's called a bouffant as I told you! It's French," she told Serena, smiling.  
  
"Well I'll bet you anything that it's French for bird's nest," muttered Zoisite.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Um, I said, uh- you're the best!" Zoisite said. He wouldn't gain anything from criticizing his sister's sense of style except a few bruises.

Mina marched Serena upstairs babbling on and on about other French hairstyles.  
  
"Nice save," said Jadeite.  
  
"Okay people," said Lita, taking charge. "Let's start decorating!"  
  
---{-0-}---  
  
Ikuko Tsukino and her sister, Michiko Ito laughed as they told each other rather embarrassing childhood stories about their children.  
  
"And then Jadeite chased Rei around the room with scissors, threatening to cut off her hair!" Michiko said, and the two collapsed into laughter again.  
  
"I get the feeling that he's always going to be after Rei one way or another. They would make an interesting couple you know," said Ikuko.  
  
"Yes I think they would. Oh Jadeite isn't planning on giving up on her anytime soon. So what about Serena?"  
  
"What about her?" Ikuko asked wishing Michiko hadn't brought the subject up.  
  
"Does she have her eye on any dashing young man?"  
  
"Pfft. Yeah right. You'd think she didn't notice the looks some guys give her."  
  
"She probably doesn't. That would be so like her."  
  
"Yes but I just wish she'd find that special someone. Or at least look."  
  
"She's not really one of those boy-crazy girls is she?"  
  
"No, unfortunately, that's Mina's department. I wonder...what do you think of Darien?"  
  
"He's a very polite, responsible, and handsome young man. But surely you're not thinking of setting Serena and _Darien_ up! They can't _stand _each other!"  
  
"So they say. But Mina seems to think differently. I'm not sure if you've noticed but she does seem to be good at finding a good match for all of her friends. And she says that Darien is Serena's."  
  
"And one day, dogs will take over the world. Be serious Ikuko!"  
  
"I am!"  
  
"Hmm. If you say so. Have you gotten Serena's present out yet?"  
  
"Yes. Now not a word to Serena please. I think she's going to like it very much."  
  
"And besides, maybe those kids will be able to get to know each other better if you know what I mean."  
  
"What are you implying?"  
  
"It ought to be romantic!" Michiko said getting a far-off look in her eyes.  
  
"Haha, don't let Kenji hear you say that. I went through enough trouble getting him to let us get this for Serena."  
  
"It'll be great for all of them. I'm glad Kunzite and Nephrite are going too, they really are dears, and they need a vacation."  
  
"Yes I think that was a good idea too. Oh my goodness, when are Sammy and Kenji getting back!"  
  
---{-0-}---  
  
"Ouch, Ouch I'm sorry Rei, really!"  
  
"You'll be a lot sorrier when you've been taught a lesson!"  
  
"Uh Rei, I believe that Jadeite has learned his lesson so perhaps you should have mercy on him now," said Ami, grimacing as Rei gave Jadeite another right hook. She finally stopped and shrugged.  
  
"Fine, I'll have pity on the lowly worm."  
  
The cause of this outburst had begun when Rei volunteered to hang up a few streamers in the living room. Jadeite (gallantly or not) offered to hold the ladder up for Rei and hand her the tape. While Rei was hanging up a disgustingly bright pink streamer, little did she know that Jadeite had taken the opportunity to look up her skirt. So when Rei asked Jadeite for tape and didn't get it, she looked down to see him scrutinizing her intimates. And of course, Jadeite suffered for it. Badly. The two mothers ran out to see a fuming Rei and a disheveled Jadeite.  
  
"Jadeite."  
  
Jadeite looked up, clutching the side of his face. _Damn, Rei sure has a strong right hook.  
_  
"Er, yes mother dear?" _This is not good. Mom will definitely guess what's happened. She's scary like that._  
  
"Do not 'mother dear' me like that. Now I don't know what you did to Rei-" _Sure_. "-but I'm sure you got what you deserved. Please go and fix your appearance." Jadeite ran off.  
  
"Rei?"  
  
"I'm sorry Mrs. Ito but that-"  
  
"There is no need to apologize Rei," Mrs. Ito said quickly, afraid Rei was going to spew out rather unsuitable words. "But next time try not to damage Jed too much. As good as it is to lower his ego it's not advisable to do it to the point of his unconsciousness."  
  
Rei nodded, grinning. Mrs. Ito was like a surrogate mother to her. They really seemed to connect.  
  
333333  
  
"Mina, do you _have_ to pluck my eyebrows? Ouch!" Serena exclaimed as Mina removed a single golden hair.  
  
"It's _'tweeze_' not pluck. Plucking is something that you do to a chicken. And yes I had to tweeze your eyebrows. I want you to look beautiful, and beauty can be painful you know." _What words of wisdom_, Serena thought sarcastically. "There, all done," said Mina as she turned Serena's chair around so that she could see her reflection in the mirror. Serena gasped. Mina had taken two and a half hours on her hair and makeup, but it seemed that it had been worth it. Her cheeks had a light pink blush, her lips looked naturally glossy, and her eyes had a glittery eye shadow. After 20 minutes of protesting and wailing Serena had finally consented to changing her hairstyle ("Just for today though," Serena had said, sniffling). Her hair was up in an elegant and complicated bun with strands of hair framing her face.  
  
"You like?" asked Mina, grinning at her masterpiece.  
  
"I love it Mina, thank you so much!" said Serena.  
  
"Hey, where are your dad and brother?" asked Mina.  
  
"They're out shopping for groceries. I think it's because Mom didn't want them to interrupt her gossiping with Aunt Michiko."  
  
"Well they better get here soon. It's already 4:48," Mina said, looking at her watch.  
  
"Oh my gosh! They're supposed to bring the refreshments and ingredients for dinner! They _can't_ be late!"  
  
"Guess it runs in the family," said Rei who was standing in the doorway. "Your mom is freaking out because they're not back yet. She wants you to go get them, Serena."  
  
"I'm going, I'm going!" Serena shouted, running out of the room at 60 miles per hour. She toppled Rei over and the priestess shook her head in exasperation.  
  
"You know she should try out for the Olympics. She gets practice in the 100 meter run every school day."  
  
---{-0-}---  
  
As Serena zoomed out the front door she ran straight into a certain gorgeous, blue-eyed jerk. She ended up falling on top of him and staring right into his deep blue eyes. _They're so pretty_, she thought stupidly.  
  
"Maybe you should have just stuck with the red carpet and band to welcome me Meatball Head," the 'pretty-eyed' man teased.  
  
Serena jumped up as quickly as she could and began brushing invisible dust and Darien cooties off of her dress. "One: I'd rather be chased by lions, _and_, tigers, _and _bears (Oh my!) than welcome you with open arms. Two: You can't call me Meatball Head today because as you can see, my hair is not up in the usual hairstyle."  
  
"More's the pity," said Darien. He couldn't help but notice Serena's new look and could sum it up in one word. [_Breathtaking],_ he thought and didn't even bother to contradict himself.  
  
"Now if you're quite done pestering me," Serena snapped. "I have to go and- Andrew, hi!" she shrieked. The arcade owner had discarded his apron, earning looks and exclamations of mock horror from Darien ("Who are you and what have you done with Andrew!"). He had watched Serena and Darien's exchange with amusement, mentally cheering on Serena for her confident comeback.  
  
"Aaaah! I have to go, I have to go!" Serena chanted as she streaked out of the driveway.  
  
Darien watched her go, puzzled. "Uh, why is she leaving her own birthday party?"  
  
Andrew shrugged. "Maybe Rei was threatening her to stay out of the kitchen or something. Hey, have you decided whether to accept Mrs. Tsukino's offer or not?"  
  
"Well...I called her and told her I'd come."  
  
"Good for you! Did she send you one of these?" Andrew asked, taking a white slip of paper out of his pocket. Darien shook his head. "I replied so late that she said she'd give me mine today."  
  
Andrew sniggered quietly. "What is so funny?" asked Darien.  
  
"I can just see Serena's face when she finds out her own mother betrayed her and invited you!"  
  
"Shut up and ring the damn doorbell," Darien ordered, a black look on his face.  
  
---{-0-}---  
  
"Hey Molly, come on in!" Serena gave her friend a hug, glancing at the boy with crazy glasses, clinging to Molly. Molly was one of her best friends, but their friendship had slowly diminished after Molly moved to a city a few hours away.  
  
Molly giggled as she gave Serena her birthday present. "About Melvin, he's still petrified of you after that incident with the flying mangas."  
  
Serena shrugged, unconcerned. "He was trying to blackmail me, what was I supposed to do?"  
  
Melvin piped up. "Well Serena, I still have those pictures and-" Molly quickly shoved the annoying Melvin into the living room. The doorbell rang again and Serena opened it to reveal two tall and solemn young men.  
  
"Hey Nephrite! And you must be Kunzite," she said shaking hands with Nephrite's companion. He was an imposing figure, towering almost a foot over Serena's petite form. His handsome, rugged face broke out into a small smile, and Serena couldn't help but notice his long, shimmering white hair. _People in this town have the strangest hair colors_, thought Serena. "Come in!" she chirped, escorting the two men into the living room where the party was in full blast. Suddenly, Serena found herself being jerked into the den, the only vacant room.  
  
"What are you doing Mina!" she exclaimed. Mina had an odd look on her face, one Serena couldn't quite put her finger on.  
  
"Serena! Who is that man with the white hair, in the living room?" Serena looked out. "My grandpa?" she asked, gaining a smack on the head for the smart-ass comment.  
  
"No! The _young_ man with Nephrite!"  
  
"Oh that's Kunzite, the other guy Jadeite invited to my party. Why?"  
  
"He's incredible!"  
  
"You've only seen him for what, five seconds?"  
  
"Yeah I know, but he's hot and I think I might like him A LOT!"  
  
"You've said that about Yaten, Daniel, Andrew, Orlando Bloom-"  
  
"Serena this is different, trust me! I feel this kind of connection with him and I think, that being the goddess of love, I should know what love feels like. And this is it!"  
  
Serena looked at her friend, finally recognizing the look that was still in her eyes. _Mina's in love.  
_  
---{-0-}---  
  
"Mmm dis cake ish dewishus Yita!" praised Serena.  
  
"Uh, what?" asked Lita.  
  
"I said, this cake is delicious Lita," said Serena, helping herself to her third slice of double chocolate cake.  
  
"Glad you like it," Lita said, staring at something (or someone) with a glazed look in her eyes, which Serena didn't notice.  
  
"Save some cake for the rest of us, can't you Meatball Head?" a voice whispered in her ear. Serena stiffened and turned, cake forgotten. It seemed that Darien had made his way to Serena's side, unnoticed.  
  
"I really don't know why I invited you to my birthday party."  
  
"Don't you remember, Meatball Head? It was because you couldn't get enough of my dashing good looks and heart-melting smile," he said, flashing her a smirk that was anything but heart-melting.  
  
Serena snorted. "Don't flatter yourself, jerk. I probably invited you to deflate that horribly large ego of yours, and bring you down a peg or two."  
  
"What's with the good comebacks?" Darien asked, surprised at Serena's wittiness.  
  
"I decided that today I will not put up with any of your crap since you are here by my gracious invitation and you just don't have the right to tease me."  
  
"Hey Serena," said Molly. "Aren't you going to open your presents?"  
  
"Ooo presents!"  
  
---{-0-}---  
  
"Thanks for the swimsuit Mina," Serena said as she admired the silver and blue bikini.  
  
Darien mentally snorted. _Swimsuit? The pieces look more like two dinner napkins.  
_  
Serena picked up the last present, which was wrapped in a gauzy blue wrapping paper. She didn't feel the intense blue gaze that watched her as she unwrapped it. Once the wrapping paper had been torn off, there sat a black velvet jewelry box. Serena opened it and gasped and others gasped with her. After escaping the violent old lady, Darien had decided that it would be better to shop on his own. He had found the present when he entered a jewelry shop. It was a delicate silver bracelet, so delicate that it looked as if a single breath would break it. Small, ruby-red roses were embedded into the bracelet, and it was the most beautiful thing Serena had ever seen.  
  
"Who's it from?" asked Andrew, knowing very well who it was from.  
  
Serena opened the card and gasped even louder than before. Then, without warning, she threw her arms around Darien, who happened to be standing behind her. Serena almost yelped when she felt something akin to an electric shock go through her. _What was that?_ she thought, letting go of Darien.  
  
Darien was stunned to say the least. To think that this meatball-headed girl, the one who he constantly teased had just hugged him! _Not that it meant anything_, he thought hurriedly. _[Though you wish it did] Why can't you leave me alone! [I wouldn't be doing my job if I did]_ Not to mention that weird feeling that had gone through him when she had hugged him. _What was that?_ An annoying voice interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"Ooo that's your boyfriend, right Serena?" asked Sammy, her younger brother.  
  
"WHAT?!" screamed her father, taking the bait. "Your boyfriend?! What have I told you about-"  
  
"Now Kenji, Darien is NOT Serena's boyfriend. He's just a friend," Ikuko said soothingly, secretly delighted about Serena and Darien's hug.  
  
"That may be, but-"  
  
"Alright Serena dear, it's time to open your last present," said Ikuko.  
  
Serena looked around. "Where?"  
  
"Right here," she said, handing her an envelope. "It's a gift from the whole family."  
  
Serena opened the envelope...and shrieked in delight.  
  
::::::  
  
Wow my first cliffhanger. What an accomplishment. Yes I know the gift in the envelope might be predictable, but guess what? I'm not perfect! It's good enough for me!  
  
OMG..I'm about to do something that I've never done before. It's so weird. Lol OK maybe not that big of a deal, but if you reviewed, here are my thanks you's to you!  
  
gigi- Yeah I haven't seen this show in years but I've been reading lots of the SM fanfics so they refresh my memory.  
  
serena79- I'm 'sendinin' chapters as fast as I can!  
  
Ghetto Queen- Thanks for the encouragement and the 2 reviews! I'm glad Chap. 3 made you laugh so much!  
  
Artificial Sprite- I'm hurrying!  
  
Chelsea- I wrote more  
  
nightwanderer- You were the first person to review my story twice and that got me all excited. I'm glad that part with Darien getting chased and whacked was so popular. Not that I want him to suffer (lol he's cute for an animated character) but sometimes he's good for comedy relief. Thanx for the encouragement!  
  
Kimmy- Yay you gave me two reviews too! Thanks and pleeease don't hurt me!  
  
Princess Consuela bananahamock- I'm glad you think it's gr8!  
  
sylverwind- I updated!  
  
star-princess-sakura- lol when I saw you're review I got the feeling that you just thought my story was OK. But then I saw that the story was on your favorite stories list so yay!  
  
vi3tQT- I'm glad you liked it so much!  
  
Krystal Khlear- You wrote the best review for this story if you ask me! You have no idea how excited and happy I felt when I checked my e-mail and found that extra long review! I thought it was a mistake or something! Yes, I'll go by your words and say that you are unique and special but ya have to admit that you have this psychopathic streak in you. lol. I'm glad you found my story so hilariously funny!  
  
baby blue gal- lol so many of my friends have names like yours, I thought you were one of them.  
  
Jemina- Hey, 'Woohoo' is MY WORD! But since you liked my story I guess I can make some exceptions...  
  
Girls of Darkness- Glad you liked Lita's outfit so much. It takes every bit of my honesty to keep myself from boasting about how my creative mind thought up the outfit. Sadly, the prize for originality will never be mine. Lita's salwar kameez is actually my salwar kameez, which I added to the story since I can't see Lita in a girly dress.


	5. Say What? Wait What? Is This A Joke?

Okay so this is Chapter 5. Well okay that was obvious. I'm in the mood to sing so here goes…

{If I could find you now things would get better, we could leave this town and run forever, let your waves crash down on me and take me awayayay!}

**'audience throws rotten tomatoes at Merry'** Hey that wasn't nice! This is MY story so I can do whatever I want including singing, no matter how crappy my singing is! By the way, I love that song.

Dislaimer: Some people just don't seem to understand that their readers don't really care about disclaimers and want them to be short. They just go on and on with puns and jokes not knowing when to stop and by the time the readers have finished reading them they won't want to read the story. By the way I don't own Sailor Moon!

::::::

Serena tackled each of her family members in a hug and repeatedly thanked them. Then she looked at her friends questioningly.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Well, what?" asked Mina, feigning innocence.

"Well, aren't you guys going to ask me what I got?" Serena practically screamed.

"Chill out and hold on," said Rei, as she closed her eyes and put her fingers to her temples. "Let me read your mind, and I will tell you what this oh so wonderful gift is."

Serena rolled her eyes but allowed Rei to "read her mind."

"I see something," Rei said softly, her eyes still closed. "Your family has given you an airplane ticket to Honolulu, Hawaii with reservations for a three week stay at the Grand Pacific Towers Hotels. Your family is renting two villas there with Time Share.."

Serena's jaw dropped almost to the floor. "H-how'd you do that?" she asked with a newfound respect for Rei's powers.

Rei simply smirked and pulled an electronic boarding pass out of her purse. Mina, Ami, Lita, Zoisite, Jadeite, Nephrite, Kunzite, and Andrew then proceeded to show her _their_ boarding passes.

Serena gaped again. "Wow, you guys all have tickets to Honolulu too. What a coincidence!"

All of her friends fell over anime style, with the exception of Nephrite and Kunzite, who possessed too much dignity to do so. Rei was the first to recover and she stared at Serena unbelievingly.

"Serena how can you be such an airhead?! Your parents _invited_ us to go and stay in Hawaii with you. Why else would you need two big villas?!"

Serena finally saw light. "Oooooh I get it now. This is so awesome! I can't believe you guys are coming with me, it's going to be so much fun!" Serena jumped up and down, ecstatic. Then suddenly she stopped. "Wait, but what about you Molly?" Serena asked, a frown appearing on her face. Her parents wouldn't just forget about Molly.

"I'm really sorry Serena," Molly said, sadly. "I dunno if you remember that incident at the botanical garden, but I get horrible allergies whenever I'm around tropical plants."

"You see dear," Serena's mother said, "we invited six boys, or should I say men, and five girls to go with you since each villa holds six people. But poor Molly won't be able to go, so there will be five girls and six men.

"So," Serena said tentatively, "who's the sixth guy?" _Please not Melvin, please not Melvin. Wait, Melvin can't even be_ considered_ a man. Oh no not-_

"Darien."

With her worst fears were confirmed, Serena passed out.

---{-0-}---

"Serena? Serena wake up."

Serena opened her eyes and all she could make out were the figures of her mother and friends surrounding her. As the figures came into focus, Serena sat up.

"Wha happened?" she asked groggily.

"Well dear, you fainted after I, um, told you who else was going to Hawaii with you."

"Mother, how could you do this to me?! What were you thinking, inviting that-that man?" Serena asked, about to pass out again.

'SPLASH' 

"AIIIEEEE!" Serena shrieked, as she jumped up, shivering from the cold tap water. Serena looked for the guilty one, suddenly stopping and staring at the girl who held the empty cup.

"A-Ami!" she spluttered, disbelievingly.

Ami looked sheepish. "I'm really sorry Serena, but I think it would be best if you and your mother discussed this in private, and you wouldn't be able to do that if you fainted again."

"Yes, Ami's right, we'll talk in the kitchen. Come on Serena," Ikuko said, dragging her daughter into the kitchen.

33333

"Not a word from you Andrew. Do you hear me? That goes for you two also," said Darien, glaring at Zoisite and Jadeite.

"Can we burst out into laughter?" asked Zoisite, looking like he was about to do just that.

Andrew was trying hard to stifle his laughter. "Darien, I hate to say I told you so, but-"

"I'm getting more punch," grumbled Darien, as he stuck the formidable electronic boarding pass into his pocket. He ignored the screams of laughter escaping the three blondes. _At the rate this is going, I'll probably be _shoved_ off the plane. Maybe I shouldn't go. Serena doesn't want me to, and who can blame her?_ A hand on his shoulder, startled Darien out of his thoughts, and he looked behind him to see a pair of warm blue eyes that reminded him of Jadeite's.

"Now Darien dear, I want you to promise me something."

"Yes Mrs. Ito?"

"Promise that you _will_ go on this trip. It will do you good. It's sure to be an adventure." Darien hesitated, not sure what to say.

"Darien, if you're worried about Serena, don't be. I know she seems, er, _opposed_ now, butI have a feeling that she'll come around soon," she said.

Darien highly doubted this, but couldn't help wondering if Mrs. Ito was right. _It's sure to be an adventure_, her gentle voice whispered in his head, and he made up his mind.

"I promise."

33333

"But Mom!" whined Serena.

"Don't 'but mom' me Serena Usagi Tsukino," Ikuko said sternly. "Darien is such a responsible, charming, honest young man. I really don't understand why you dislike him so much!"

"Has he been brainwashing you or something?" Serena asked seriously. You never knew with Darien. Serena suddenly thought of something. "Are you trying to play _matchmaker, _mom?

Her mother just gave her a knowing smile and Serena gasped.

"You're trying to play matchmaker for _all_ of us!" The smile remained and Serena groaned.

"Darien is going whether you like it or not," Ikuko said firmly and Serena knew that she could not defeat her obstinate mother.

"Ugh, I give up!" said Serena, throwing her hands up in defeat.

"Good, now go and see your guests out and then we'll start packing. After all, you're leaving the day after tomorrow."

---{-0-}---

The Tsukino residence was in complete and utter chaos. The house was one gigantic mess, mainly due to Serena carelessly tossing unnecessary clothes out of her bulging suitcase. Serena was having a fit because for once, _she_ was the one screaming that she was going to be late. Her mother was rushing to get her purse, her father was still upstairs, and Sammy was dancing around her, celebrating her leaving.

"This is so cool! I'm going to be rid of you for three weeks!"

"Mom what's taking Dad so long?" asked Serena, casually sticking her foot out to trip Sammy, who ended up falling flat on his face.

"Well dear, your suitcase _is_ rather heavy. Are you sure you really need all of those mangas and videos? It's not like they don't have Japanese TV channels at the hotel."

"I know but-"

Sammy rudely interrupted her. "Hey Serena are you and Darien going to kissy-kiss on the plane?"

"Argh, for the last time you little pestilence, I do NOT like Darien!"

"That's not what Mina told me," her brother said in a singsong voice.

"Alright Sammy and Serena, go and get in the car," said Ikuko. Sammy ran off, his sister traipsing off after him, muttering about strangling a certain blonde with her own red bow. "Hurry up Kenji!"

"Easy for you to say," called Kenji, appearing at the top of the stairs. He was trying to lift the monster of a suitcase onto the first stair when all of a sudden he lost his balance. The man ended up sliding down the stairs, sitting on the suitcase like a toboggan.

"Kenji are you alright?" asked Ikuko, as the suitcase stopped at the bottom of the staircase.

Kenji looked up, his glasses askew, and a bright smile on his face. "Woohoo, that was fun! I'm going to do it again!"

Ikuko sweat dropped. "Oh no you're not," she said as she grabbed the suitcase handle and her husband's hand, dragging them both to the garage.

---{-0-}---

Because of the security measures at the airport, Serena's family could only escort her as far as the large but crowded terminal entrance.

"Bye Mom, Dad, Sammy," Serena said, hugging them all in turn.

"Serena, remember to stay away from strange men."

"Erm, okay Dad."

"And _don't_ visit the beach if there are any half-naked men around."

"Huh, but Dad!"

"And don't forget to-"

"Have fun dear," said Ikuko, giving Serena one last hug and pushing her through the terminal entrance.

---{-0-}---

"It's about time Meatball Head," said Rei.

"Hey, I got here just in time!"

"So Serena, what's your seat number?" Ami asked, before Rei and Serena could start arguing.

"7B."

"So you're sitting next to me," said Andrew.

"Cool! Who are you guys sitting with?" she asked her friends.

"Mina's with Kunzite, Lita's with Nephrite, and I'm with Rei," Ami said without having to think.

Serena looked a little crestfallen. _Aww man! Why can't Rei and Ami be with Jed and Zoisite?_ On the other hand, she was glad Mina was with Kunzite. Surprisingly, she hadn't heard from Lita what she thought about Nephrite.

"Oh and Jadeite's with Zoisite and Darien's alone," added Ami, who was pulled aside right after she finished.

"Speaking of the jerk, where is he?"

"You sound a bit concerned there Serena," Mina said mischievously. Serena reddened. "No of course not, it's just, well, he used money out of his own pocket to buy his ticket and-"

"He went to get coffee," said Lita, smiling at the flustered Serena.

"Yuck! I can't believe he likes that stuff! What is he thinking?"

"The question is not _what_ I'm thinking but _how _I'm thinking, Meatball Head. Perhaps I could give you a few lessons on the technique."

"Perhaps you could give her a few lessons on some other things too Darien," Mina said suggestively. When both Serena and Darien gave her deathly glares for the comment, Mina darted behind Lita in terror.

"Last call for flight 92613, flight to Honolulu, Hawaii," came the cool voice of an airport employee.

The company tried to rush to the entrance of the covered walkway, resulting in them all falling on top of each other.

---{-0-}---

"What's your seat number Darien?" asked Andrew.

"It's 5A which is right over the-" Darien froze, horrified. He ran and ducked behind Andrew, who was slightly shorter than him.

"Um Darien, what are you doing?" asked Andrew.

"Andrew I am not sitting there."

Andrew looked towards where Darien was pointing, and he struggled to keep a straight face.

"Well Darien," he said casually, "you _could_ take my seat."

"Oh thank you, thank you," Darien cried, switching boarding passes with his friend, glancing at the seat number, and darting towards 7A.

::::::

Hehe another cliffhanger. I'm not sure if it's another obvious one but I guess I'll find out when you guys REVIEW! I'm sure that more than 17 people have read my story. I mean come on! I'm an aspiring writer (kinda) and I need to know if the story is worth all of my "precious" time. Okay, this is the time to review. Go on. Don't be shy.

Thanks to:

sylver wind- I'm glad you liked the last chapter.

Krystal Khlear- Yes I did make up the bracelet. It's strictly out of my imagination. Thank you for the very many necessary and unnecessary comments.

night wanderer- Yeah Darien sure does know what women want. **'Sigh'** Sometimes I wish he was real. Oops did I say that out loud? Insert embarrassed laugh.

Ellen- No you can't have the bracelet! Besides, I dunno where you can get one. I got my salwar kameez from a market in Calcutta, India. So unless you want to stow away on my flight to India in a few weeks I doubt you'll be able to get the same one. On the bright side they do have unIndian (lol my new word) salwar kameezes in certain stores in the US.

Ocianne- You are the most wonderful person on FF.net! And I'm not just saying that. Thank you so much for agreeing to be my beta! And thank you for the three helpful reviews. Bye!


	6. The Adventure Takes Flight

I tried to make this chapter long to make up for all the time I was out of town. I didn't even get a welcome back party from my so-called loyal readers. Pah! Isn't that a lovely word? Lol anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do you think a nobody like me would own a huge thing like Sailor Moon? Hey you don't have to rub it in.

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Serena fluffed up her pillow, drew one of Singapore Airlines' blankets around herself, and settled down into the airplane seat. As she closed her eyes, she heard the sound of footfalls, and Serena heard someone sit down in the seat next to her, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Hi Andrew," Serena said, not opening her eyes.

"Meatball Head?!"

Serena's eyes flew open at the sound of the loathsome nickname and the equally loathsome voice.

"Darien!?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Serena asked angrily, her eyes blazing.

"Well, uh, I switched seats with Andrew," Darien said, feeling slightly intimidated by the angry blonde.

"Why?! So you could torture me _before _we get to Hawaii? Wanted to get a head start, huh?" Serena had never known a more aggravating man in her life. Forget what all her friends told her about giving him second chances. He'd run out of them a long time ago.

"No, no, I had no idea you were sitting here, really."

A flicker of disappointment went through Serena, but she quickly dismissed it. _After all, why would I be disappointed?_ "Oh? Then why did you switch seats with Andrew?" Serena asked, looking like she was about to throttle her nemesis.

"You would have too, if you were in my position. Some vacation this is going to be, if _she's_ going to be in Honolulu too."

Serena raised a golden eyebrow. "Who?"

"I'm sure you don't want to hear about it," Darien said firmly.

"Of course I do Darien," Serena said in a sugary sweet voice. "You know that I just can't hear enough about your love life," she said, always ready to hear a little gossip.

Darien choked on the breath he had just inhaled. "Love life!? Just the thought of it is nauseating! I don't think so."

"Tell me," Serena practically whined.

_Well, I guess she deserves an explanation, _Darien thought.

"You better not laugh," he grumbled.

"Why would I do that?" Serena asked in the same sugary voice.

Darien looked at Serena skeptically but sighed and began to explain.

3 3 3 3 3

"Argh!! I cannot BELIEVE this!" Rei screamed, attracting the attention of several other passengers. She turned around in her seat and glared murderously at her traitorous friend. Ami 'eeped' and pulled her blanket over her head.

"Actually, it's _your_ fault that I have to endure your presence," Rei spat accusingly at Jadeite. He just shrugged.

"Ami consented to switching seats with me."

"Only because _you_ forced her to!"

"I did not!" Jadeite countered indignantly.

"Yeah right."

Ami cut in. "Jadeite is speaking the truth Rei. I _did _agree to switch seats with him, and of my own accord." She didn't bother to add that the blonde had looked so pitiful when he'd asked her that she hadn't had the heart to say no.

Rei tried to think of a retort, but couldn't, so she contented herself with crossing her arms and glowering at Jadeite.

"You are a cunning, conniving jackass. Why is it that fate is making me spend the next seven hours with you?" she muttered to Jadeite, not wanting the whole plane to hear her again.

"Aww come on Rei, deep down, you know you like me," Jadeite said, stroking Rei's hand, which was resting on the armrest between them. Rei pulled her hand away and used it to slap the back of Jadeite's head.

"Very deep down, apparently," he said, rubbing his head as the plane began to take off.

3 3 3 3 3

Mina fluttered her eyelids flirtatiously at Kunzite for what seemed like the twentieth time. _Can the man not take the hint?! _

"Is there something in your eye, Mina?" Kunzite enquired politely.

Mina reddened. "Er, uh, no, no it's nothing, really," she said, slumping into her seat dejectedly.

A shadow of a smile appeared on Kunzite's face. Mina had been trying to flirt with him all day, what with her fluttering eyelids and seductive smiles. Kunzite was not one to respond to such actions, so he simply feigned ignorance. Sure, Mina was attractive and vivacious, but one got tired of girls always fawning over you. _Great, now I sound like Zoisite._ Really, what made Mina any different from other girls out there? Anyway, that's exactly what Mina was-a girl. He didn't have time for silly girly crushes. He wanted to have a nice, relaxing time in Hawaii, and not have to worry about anything.

"Could you please remove your foot from there Mina?" Kunzite asked coolly. Mina blushed and did so. _Okay I guess that was a little forward_, Mina thought. _But I don't care how impassive this guy is. He _will_ fall hard for me whether he wants to or not_. She barely restrained herself from letting out a cackle of crazed, evil laughter. _Now all I need is a secret hideout._

3 3 3 3 3

Zoisite watched his sister continue to bat her eyelids at Kunzite. She could be very amusing when she was around a guy that she liked.

"Mina sure is a flirt, huh?" Zoisite asked, casually slipping an arm around Ami.

"Mmmhmm. Must run in the family," she said, shrugging Zoisite's arm off, and returning to the book she had been reading. She suddenly burst into helpless laughter.

"Whatcha reading?" Zoisite asked curiously, wondering what was so funny.

"Oh, haha, it's this idiotic book Mina gave me last year. It's the only one of my books I haven't read yet so I thought I'd bring it along. But really, haha, it's ridiculous."

"What's so funny?" Zoisite asked impatiently.

"Well, it's a silly romance novel and the main character is an esteemed business woman who lives in Bombay, which I might add, is NOT the correct name. The real name is Mumbai, but going on. This woman goes to a bar with her friends, though why she would do that is beyond my comprehension. She sees a bartender there, and as soon as their eyes meet she thinks that it's love at first sight. Which is ridiculous really. Honestly, how can Mina like this stuff?" Ami said rather scornfully.

Zoisite regarded Ami for a few moments. "So you think that love at first sight is so impossible?" he asked, not one to beat around the bush.

Ami blinked, not comprehending at first. "Well…yes," she said slowly. Ami was not like Zoisite. She did not wear her heart on her sleeve and display all of her emotions 24/7. She hid them from everyone except for her close friends.

"Why?"

"It's just not…not logical," Ami stammered.

Zoisite did not tear his gaze away from Ami's eyes. "Love has nothing to do with logic Ami. That's why it's so wonderful and thrilling. And love at first sight is not meant to make any sense. Love is a feeling, not a calculation or theory."

Ami shifted in her seat uncomfortably as Zoisite looked away. He'd said all that with so much feeling and emotion. Like…like he meant it. Ami didn't particularly likeZoisite, but she did respect his intelligence and thoughts. She went through everything in her head again as she looked out the window to see dark fingers subtly wrap themselves around the graying clouds, allowing the constantly twinkling and dancing stars to show themselves.

3 3 3 3 3

Nephrite watched Lita, concern in his eyes. Something was bothering her, he was sure of it. Maybe it was the fact that she was huddled up in a ball. Maybe it was the fact that her lovely green eyes were hidden tightly behind her eyelids. Or, maybe it was the fact the she was rocking to and fro, muttering something incomprehensible. _No, it's all three,_ he decided.

"Um, Lita, is something wrong?"

Lita opened her eyes and turned her head to see a pair of compassionate brown eyes.

"I…it's just…I mean." Lita let out a groan of frustration.

Nephrite patted her shoulder comfortingly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

_Lita you are being such a WIMP! You are totally embarrassing yourself in front of an incredible and not to mention _hot_ guy. And all you can do is think about your silly fear. _Lita suddenly felt a surge of gratitude towards Nephrite. He was stroking her back now, unaware that it sent delightful shivers down her spine.

"If I tell you, will you laugh at me?" Lita asked.

"No, I promise I won't."

Lita took a deep breath and explained. "You see, ever since I was a kid I've been terrified of flying by air. It scares the heck out of me and I don't feel safe traveling through the skies. I just—well it's one of my greatest fears." Lita felt ashamed, but relieved at the same time. "You probably think I'm such a wuss now," she said sadly.

"Of course I don't Lita. Everyone has their own fears. Flying's one of yours and that doesn't make you any less brave then everyone knows you are."

"Thank you," Lita whispered, her eyes filling with gratitude as she looked at Nephrite. He grinned. How he loved those eyes.

3 3 3 3 3

_The sacrifices I make for my friends,_ Andrew thought. _Darien better thank me for everything I'm doing for him. Huh, and they thought that Joan of Arc character was a martyr. _

At first it hadn't seemed such a bad idea. Darien had unknowingly rushed off to sit next to Serena, and thus, Andrew's plans of matchmaking had begun. But what about poor Andrew? Now he was stuck with this extremely annoying brunette for _hours_. _As good of a friend as Darien is, disregarding his death threats and such, I am not going to be able to stand listening about how wonderful he is for the next six and a half hours!_

"Oh I wish you'd switch seats with Darien, Andrew," the girl whined. "Where is he anyway?"

"Ann, will you please forget about Darien before I go and jump off the plane!" the normally good-natured Andrew snarled.

Ann Ginga was Darien's worst nightmare, though the old lady with the purse was a close second. Andrew often told Darien that if the word "stalker" had a synonym it would have to be Ann. Ann was always following Darien around, and the fact that she went to the same university as him, did not help any. The day Darien had embarrassed himself in the arcade over the invitation, it had been Ann, with two of her ditzy friends, who'd been told off by Lizzie.

Ann's red eyes bored into Andrew like gimlets and the man gulped, wondering if looks really could kill. Then suddenly she stopped and smiled confidently.

"Oh poor Andrew, I understand perfectly," she said in a sweet voice.

Andrew heaved a sigh of relief. "You do?"

"Yes, but really, there's no need to be jealous."

"Well I- WHAT!? Jealous?! I am not jealous!" _Honestly, Ann must have an even bigger ego than Jadeite and Zoisite combined!_

"Of course you are Andrew dear," Ann said, smiling amiably. "But don't you already have a girlfriend? What's her name, Rhonda?"

_"Rita,"_ Andrew corrected, grinding his teeth together.

"Oh, right," Ann said offhandedly.

"Ann could you please explain to me how it is that you're going to the exact same place on the exact same day as us?" Andrew said, trying to speak in a friendly voice.

"Just luck I guess," Ann said, laughing a silly, affected laugh.

_Right. How lucky for me._ All the same, Andrew was concerned that Ann would ruin his matchmaking plans.

"So it's just coincidence you say?" Andrew had to give Ann credit for her skillful stalking abilities.

"But of course," Ann said untruthfully. "Now, have you ever noticed that Darien has a birthmark on his right arm? Just above his elbow, you know."

Andrew's eyes widened in disbelief. _Oh yeah, Darien had better be grateful for all I'm going through for him._

3 3 3 3 3

Surprisingly, Andrew's efforts had not all been in vain. Darien had told Serena about Ann, of whom the blonde had never heard of, and Serena had gone off into peals of laughter. Darien realized that he enjoyed making Serena laugh, though he hadn't realized it before. It somehow reminded him of bells ringing merrily, but when he thought this he practically gagged at the corniness of the analogy.

Serena wiped tears of mirth from her eyes and smiled at Darien.

"Poor Darien. I almost feel sorry for you. But you don't really think she'll be staying at the same hotel as us do you?" Serena asked disbelievingly.

"If I know Ann, I have no doubts."

"She _must_ have issues, if she spends all her time stalking you," Serena said.

"Hey! I'll have you know that several women are attracted to me," Darien retorted indignantly.

"Yeah right. Name one."

"You." Darien gasped rather audibly at the slip. He had not meant say that. He definitely had not meant to say that. Where had that come from?

Serena's mouth was agape and she stared disbelievingly at Darien. But she quickly got a hold of herself and laughed.

"You sure have a big ego Chiba. Why the hell would you make that assumption?"

Darien snapped back to reality. "Well for one thing you're always fighting with me."

"Right, I always scream with rage at men who I'm madly in love with," Serena said, rolling her eyes.

"You just try to hide it, that's all," Darien said confidently.

"Oh puh-lease! Anyway, you're the one who starts all the fights. So that means you're the one who has feelings for me."

"No way!"

"Uh-huh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Would you two quiet down?!" Lita ordered from behind them. "I'm trying to sleep!"

"He started it."

Darien threw his pillow into Serena's face. "Give it a rest Meatball head, and go to sleep."

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Fin! I've been doing some brainstorming for some new stories and I think I've stumbled onto a new idea for an Usagi/Mamoru story. It involves a conspiracy inscribed into Pluto's staff, a switch, some time-travelling, and ultimate chaos! I just need to work out the kinks. Unfortunately, I'm not sure when I'll have time to start it since school starts in a week. The horror! Bye!


	7. Of Cars and Caterwauling

I don't have much to say...So what am I supposed to say? Um never mind, on with the story and the countless reviews. Right, countless reviews. Anyways.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, Honolulu International Airport, _Cruzin Hawaii Motorcycle Rentals, _or Whitfield. Though I may take up residence there quite soon.

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After a long flight, the gang finally managed to escape the Honolulu International Airport and start out for their new residences. However, all was not well in their rented van on this particular leg of their adventure.

"Argh we're lost!"

"Thank you _so_ much for stating the obvious, Kunzite."

"This is all thanks to our "expert" navigator."

"Yeah, nice going Zoisite."

"Hey, Jadeite's the dumb ass who bought a map of Forest, Mississippi, not me! What kind of idiot confuses Forest, Mississippi with Honolulu, Hawaii?!"

"A hopeless one."

"Actually, it says here that there's an insane asylum called Whitfield there. Maybe Jadeite was house hunting?"

"Very funny, Lita."

"Alright, alright, settle down," Ami commanded in a tone disturbingly similar to that of her former teacher, Ms. Haruna. "Serena, please hand me that hotel reservation."

Serena did as she was told, and Ami pulled her Motorola cell phone out.

"Well, thank goodness _someone_ had a bright idea," Lita said, sighing in relief as Ami asked the person on the other line for directions.

Jadeite looked out the window. "Hey can we stop over-"

"NO!" the others shouted.

He crossed his arms and looked back remorsefully at the quickly receding building whose neon lights flashed, _Cruzin Hawaii Motorcycle Rentals_. Time and time again he had begged to be allowed to rent a motorcycle, or at least ogle a few, but his "friends" would not allow him to do so. Was it _his_ fault that 'cycles called to him, wanting to be drooled over?

Ami put her phone back into her small navy blue handbag. "Okay Nephrite, just take a left on this street and if we keep going straight we should be there in about two minutes."

"TWO MINUTES?!" everyone exclaimed.

"I thought we were _miles_ away from the hotel," Serena said, and the rest muttered their assent.

"See, I didn't even need the right map to get us to the hotel!" Zoisite proclaimed triumphantly, dodging a punch from an aggravated Kunzite.

The white-haired man twisted in his seat to look out the back windows, through which sunlight was flooding through, wishing he had decided to join Darien, Andrew and Rei in the second car. With what Andrew had dubbed "Leet negotiator skills", Darien had managed to upgrade their Accord to a Porsche convertible and besides the fact that they were following the cherry red Ford Explorer in circles, the three looked to be enjoying themselves immensely.

As Kunzite turned back around with a sigh, the sleeping form of Mina caught his eye. She was probably the happiest person in the van, curled up in an oblivious ball of pale skin and sunshine blonde hair that stood out against the black vinyl interior. _Must be tired out from all that flirting and seducing, _he thought dryly.

"Do you like Mina, Kunzite?" a voice asked, breaking his train of thought. Kunzite turned to meet a pair of rather menacing green eyes.

"Are you going to give me the, 'you better not do anything to hurt her or else' speech?" Kunzite asked in an amused voice.

"Hey, don't let my size fool you," Zoisite said. "I could seriously hurt you if you broke her heart."

Kunzite suppressed a snort, then realized that Zoisite's aggressive gaze was dead serious, not teasing. "Zoisite, you sound like an overprotective brother from a corny movie. Besides, I'm not interested in Mina."

Zoisite's look quickly turned from suspicious anger to amused. "Sure Kunzite, and I suppose you'll deny the fact that I've caught you looking at her countless times. And even if you _are_ telling the truth, you and I both know that Mina is _very_ much interested in you. There's no way you'll be able to escape her now. She's one of the most determined people I know. Scary," he admitted thoughtfully, "but determined. If I know Mina, she won't rest 'til she's cooked up some crazy scheme to make you fall in love with her." He ignored Kunzite's raised eyebrows. "If I were you, I'd be afraid. Very afraid."

Kunzite gulped. It wasn't often that he let himself be intimidated by anything, but Zoisite wasn't one to exaggerate. From the way Zoisite had warned him...he was probably in big trouble. He'd have to be on his guard. Glancing at the sleeping blonde reassured Kunzite though. After all, how could a teenage girl bring about _his_ demise? He didn't see the girl's eyes open to peer at him evilly from behind a curtain of golden hair. Oh yes, Kunzite was in for one hell of a vacation.

---{-0-}---

Serena opened the door of the two-story villa after she and the girls had parted ways with the guys, who were two villas down. Although it was mid-morning, it sure _felt_ like the middle of the night and they had all agreed to meet up again in the evening after getting some sleep.

The girls gasped in delight as each of them stepped into the villa. They were in the living room, decorated in forest greens and parrot blues, which contrasted attractively against the ecru carpet. Everyone ran through the villa, exhaustion temporarily forgotten, exclaiming at all sorts of things.

"Wow, look at this kitchen!" shouted Lita, as she looked through the drawers. She grinned happily as she began planning the masterpieces she could create in the next three weeks.

"What a beautiful bathroom," Ami said as she stuck her head into the downstairs spotless white bathroom and gazed at the large Jacuzzi tub.

"Wheeeeee!" Four heads turned to see Mina sliding down the banister of the staircase that led upstairs.

"Doesn't take much to amuse her," Rei commented, earning her an angry swat on the shoulder.

After a brief and slightly heated discussion, sleeping quarters were divvied up. Since she cared less about the view and more about privacy, Ami laid claim to the downstairs bedroom and immediately began setting up her personal library. The other girls argued over the two upstairs bedrooms' arrangements until somehow Serena and Rei ended up together in one room and Mina and Lita took the other.

"I wonder how my family managed to get twin beds for everyone," Serena said as she fell onto her bed. A mass of fuschia Plumeria flowers adorned the bright blue bedspreads of the two beds, which had caused Serena to beam and Rei to gag.

Rei shrugged and pulled her cotton knit pajamas out of her suitcase and headed to the connecting bathroom.

"So, Rei!" Serena called, pulling her own pajamas on.

"So, what?" Rei's muffled voice called back.

"Have you ever actually considered going out with Jadeite?"

A frightening sound that seemed halfway between a growl and a squawk reached Serena's ears. The door burst open and Rei marched over to her bed huffily, pausing only to close the coral pink curtains with a savage jerk.

"Just a question," Serena said as she snuggled into bed.

"Yeah well...I know he's your cousin Serena but still...I just...argh I dunno."

"Jadeite's really sweet to _me_."

"Well he's your cousin and there's that family bond between you two. I guess maybe he goes about everything in the wrong way."

"Oh?" Serena said, perking her ears up in interest.

"He's so full of himself and _maybe_ if he stopped acting like a cocky playboy—"

"Which he is."

"—I might not get all wiled up whenever he's around."

Serena paused thoughtfully, interpreting and storing the information away to tell Jadeite later. If he would stop trying to impress Rei and thus acting like a jerk, he might even have a chance with her. Maybe she could conscript Mina into helping her match-make the two. No, Mina would be too busy with her own evil schemes. She'd just have to do it herself.

"I see. Oh, and Rei?"

"Hmm?"

"You put your pajama top on backwards."

-.-.-.-.-.-

While the girls were peacefully drifting off to sleep, a heated argument had ensued in the men's villa.

"No way, Zoisite, we drew straws and Jadeite is sleeping in _your_ room," Nephrite said firmly.

Zoisite's voice was plaintive and whiny. "But _Nephrite_, you have no idea how _terrible_ it is to sleep in the same room as Jadeite."

"Hey, don't I have a say in this?" Jadeite piped up.

"NO!" Two angry voices chorused.

"He snores so loud," Zoisite continued. "_And_ he sleepwalks."

"That was only that one time!" Jadeite exclaimed indignantly.

"Look you two," Darien said, glancing longingly at the door to the downstairs bedroom, which he was sharing with Andrew. "I am exhausted from spending the entire plane ride sitting next to the ever-bickering Meatball Head—"

"Hey that's my cousin you're talking about!" Jadeite interjected.

"—and I really want to go to sleep so why don't you come to a compromise?"

"Like what?" Nephrite asked in a disgruntled voice.

"Share him?"

"What?! I am _not_ a ho that you can just share between yourselves!"

Four disbelieving faces turned to look at him.

"Uh hehe, never mind," Jadeite said as he stared down at the carpet with immense interest.

"As I was saying, why don't you take turns sharing your bedrooms with him. One night he'll sleep with Zoisite and the other night he'll sleep with Nephrite." Everyone stared at him and Jadeite muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "again with the ho thing." "Er, you know what I mean," Darien stammered, highly embarrassed by the unintended innuendo.

"Is that a plan?" Andrew asked the feminine blonde and the brown-haired man.

"Wait," Zoisite said, slowly turning his head to look at the stairs. Upon arrival, Kunzite had wordlessly dragged his suitcase up the stairs to one of the bedrooms and was already asleep.

The blonde exchanged glances with Nephrite, who smiled evilly. "I like the way you think, Zoi."

"Kunzite gets him!" Zoisite announced. Without waiting for a reaction, the two previously caterwauling friends grabbed their suitcases and ran up the stairs. After a moment Jadeite shrugged and followed them, leaving Darien and Andrew alone.

"Well I guess that's the end of that," Andrew said.

Darien shook his head as his gaze lingered on the upstairs railing. "That's what you think. Even in sleep, Kunzite's _always_ on his guard. He always seems to have one ear open as if he expects someone's going to try to murder him in his sleep. He'll know if someone is sneaking into his room. Those three fools are going to die."

"Ah."

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Hope ya liked it, even if it was kinda short. Forest, Mississippi and Whitfield are actual places. One of my close friends used to live in Forest and mentioned the asylum once. Ironically this friend of mine is part Japanese. My thanks go out to nightwanderer, Kimmy, nykaulys, Moon Princess568, emmastarz, and a special thanks to my editor, Ocianne! Yes I know you hinted that you didn't want me to mention you but hey, this _is_ my story. Hehe. Until next time!


	8. A Talking Vegetable! Actually It's a Fru...

Yes, it's true I'm back! Well I won't keep you waiting any longer so read and be merry like Merry Faerie!

Disclaimer: I don't own it all right?! Nor do I own Safeway (which is a grocery store by the way).

* * *

Jadeite groaned and rolled over in his sleep, falling to the floor with a 'thump.' 

"Owwoo," he whined, looking up to glare at his twin bed. Wait...that wasn't his bed.

Then he remembered everything and groaned again.

He should never have snuck into Kunzite's room. The white-haired man had heard Jadeite creep in (even though the guy was snoring!) and pounced on him, pummeling his head to the floor with the force of a battering ram, or maybe a wrecking ball. After Jadeite had finally gotten the breath to scream that it was him, and that Zoisite and Nephrite had forced him to sleep in Kunzite's room, Kunzite released him and dashed off. A few seconds later, a blessed chorus of shouting, cursing, gruff protests, and shrieking (courtesy of Zoisite) could be heard from the other room. Ah, revenge.

Unfortunately, after much more noisy madness and beatings for all three of them for waking Kunzite up, Jadeite had been the loser of Room Divvying Round II and was forced to sleep on the downstairs sofa.

It was all right for the other two — Nephrite was tough enough to be able to withstand Kunzite's beatings, and Kunzite always went easy on Zoisite. But poor Jadeite! He thought over all the wrongs done to him and decided to accept the others' apologies magnanimously.

_Provided they grovel like hell first. _Jadeite's further thoughts were cut off by an insistent pounding on the door, which echoed nastily through his skull. Nursing his head with one hand, Jadeite stood up to answer the door.

"Room service!" a voice shrieked from outside, causing Jadeite to grimace in pain. Then he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. _Wait, who ordered room service?_

He opened the door to tell the irritating employee to shove off. (Well, not in those exact words. Preferably stronger ones.) There stood a brunette with a satisfied smirk on her face and red eyes that practically glowed.

"Hello, Jadeite," Ann purred.

Jadeite's eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at the last person he had expected to see. After a moment he did the only reasonable thing he could think of doing. He slammed the heavy door in the girl's face.

"Who is it, Jed?" Zoisite questioned from the upstairs railing, his honey-blonde hair ruffled and out of its usual ponytail.

"Uh, er, wrong number," Jadeite replied as he bolted the door and turned the lock.

Zoisite raised an eyebrow at his friend's unusual behavior, but simply shook his head. "Whatever. Let's wake everyone up and call the girls. Then we'll decide what to do tonight. You wake Kunz—"

"NO!" Jadeite shouted. Zoisite smirked.

"Just kidding. _I'll _wake up Nephrite and Kunzite and you wake up the other two."

Jadeite nodded and Zoisite disappeared into his room. Jadeite turned to peer through the spy hole and to his relief the head of brown hair was retreating. _But for how long?_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ami awoke to a draft wafting in through the open window, raising goose bumps on her skin. She opened her large blue eyes and sat up to see dusk approaching. For a moment she simply stared out the window, watching the sky change in a gorgeous display of colors. Just as she decided to start waking the other girls, the phone rang in the living room and she hastened to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Ami," came a silky voice.

Ami rolled her eyes and struggled to keep the exasperation out of her voice. "Yes, Zoisite?"

"Would you like to join me for a romantic walk for two on the beach?" he asked and Ami couldn't figure out it he was teasing or not.

_Wonderful, he's back to his 'charming' tactics again._ "No, thank you," Ami replied firmly.

Zoisite heaved an enormous sigh. "Very well, then. Why don't you just wake up the other girls and we can meet here to decide what we'll do for the rest of the evening."

"That's the first sensible thing you've said for quite a while Zoisite,' Ami answered coolly. To her annoyance, Zoisite seemed anything but disconcerted.

"Well, I try my best, dear Ami. Okay, meet you in a few minutes," he said and hung up. Ami hung her phone up as well.

There seemed to be no understanding Zoisite.

---o---

"Remind me never to attend a meeting like this again," Nephrite muttered to Lita, who giggled. The two of them watched from their seats on the floor as approximately half of their friends tried to decide on an activity for the evening, and the other half sat at various states of inattention. The only person getting something accomplished was Serena: she had abandoned any pretense of paying attention half an hour ago and was currently stretched out on the couch, taking another nap.

"Done. It'll take them ages to agree." Lita eyed Rei cautiously, noting that the raven-haired girl was giving Jadeite another one of the death glares she saved especially for him. "I think I'd be better off leaving them at it and doing some grocery shopping. I can probably have dinner ready by the time they come up with anything."

"Not a bad idea," Nephrite said. He had already heard of Lita's famous cooking skills. "Mind if I join you?"

Lita looked up at him. "Can you cook?" she asked curiously.

Nephrite snorted and quickly dodged a sofa pillow that was meant for Jadeite. _Rei needs to work on her aim._ "Sadly, my cooking skills are limited to TV dinners and boiled eggs. But I'd be happy to help so I can spend some time with _you_," he said, as he flashed the brunette a breathtaking smile. And paused. _Um, did those words just come out of my mouth?_ Lately, he seemed to be doing things he would never have even considered two weeks ago. _Why am I acting like this?_ He saw the attractive blush rising in Lita's cheeks, and knew he'd found his answer.

"Well then, I guess we've decided what _we're _going to do," Lita said, not meeting Nephrite's brown eyes, which had considerably softened since the airplane flight.

"Right. I say we ditch these guys and hit Safeway right now."

Lita grinned. "Alright, let's go," she whispered. Nephrite quietly grabbed the Porsche keys that Darien had deposited on the counter. They crept out the front door and with a burst of speed, the two ran towards the Porsche and drove off.

---o---

"Are we agreed?" Mina asked the remaining members of the group. Everyone nodded.

"I hope you know that it only took, oh, _50_ minutes to decide what we're going to do," Zoisite remarked from his seat. He was absentmindedly titling his chair back, not knowing that a certain blue-haired girl was silently wishing for it to fall.

"Silence in the court! The jury has spoken! We shall go to swimming pool," Mina proclaimed imperiously as she banged a spatula onto the oak dining table. The dining room had been turned into a makeshift courtroom with Mina as judge. The blonde could certainly fit into any role she chose to, and this was no exception.

Mina glared at her bailiff who seemed to be drifting off to sleep again. Andrew caught the look and hurriedly stood up.

"All rise," he barked.

Mina rose from her seat regally, but tripped on the cord of the judge's robe (or bathrobe) that she wore and fell on her rear end.

"I always liked law shows," Zoisite remarked with a grin.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At Safeway, Lita and Nephrite were having an equally fun time. Lita had found out one of Nephrite's surprising talents: ventriloquism. The two stood in the produce section and Lita was struggling to keep a straight face.

"Do it again Neph," she whispered. The man's face was perfectly stolid and his mouth was shut tight.

"Oooh, stop poking me; that hurts!" the squeaky voice of a tomato ordered in English.

A bespectacled woman bent down to examine the seemingly innocent fruit. "I, I beg you're pardon?" she asked with a British accent, her voice shaky and disbelieving.

"You heard me. How would you like it if you had to sit here all day like a couch potato, no offense Idaho, squashed between all these silly vegetables, always being poked and prodded by people?" the salad ingredient demanded.

"Well, I really don't know but, but..." the English woman was lost for words. She scurried away and ordered her astonished husband to drop that wine bottle and drive her to some other supermarket where the vegetables didn't talk.

Lita burst into helpless laughter and was soon joined by her companion. They shook with mirth until they had finally managed to calm down and catch their breath.

"Wh-where did you learn how to do that?" Lita asked.

Nephrite explained after adjusting his rumpled shirt. "Well, I used to go to a boarding school, and one of my friends' fathers worked in a circus and he came to visit. He did this amazing demonstration of ventriloquism and I knew I just _had_ to learn how to do it. So I practiced and practiced, occasionally getting lessons from him, and it was finally perfected my last year of high school. And I can tell you, it sure made for some interesting classes."

"That's _amazing_," Lita exclaimed, looking up at Nephrite with eyes that he had only seen before on hero-worshippers, making him feel very embarrassed.

"Oh, well, I had to practice like hell," Nephrite muttered, shifting his feet modestly.

"So I guess you entertain your friends like that all the time," Lita said.

"No, actually. I think Jadeite's probably the only one who knows about it, since we used to go to the same boarding school. He was in the form below me, and our classes were combined for Music and subjects like that. But Jed didn't really like the all boys' boarding school so he dropped out after a year; you know how crazy he is about women." Lita nodded. "I guess now you know one of my secrets," Nephrite said with a smile. They gazed at each other for a few seconds, then turned away in embarrassment.

"Er, let's see now. I need some garlic, could you hand me a bag please?"

"No, don't buy me, I'll make your breath smell," the garlic announced. Lita stared at it, dumbfounded, but her amazement soon turned into another bout of helpless laughter.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The light of the moon, stars, and strategically placed light bulbs illuminated the hotel's pool. Darien and Kunzite swam laps at the shallow end, with Mina looking on from the pool steps and staring surreptitiously at Kunzite. Andrew was stretched out on a deck chair, drinking a soda and observing his friends' antics with the amusement of the uninvolved.

Serena stood near Rei on the poolside, watching as Ami and Zoisite raced by her across the length of the enormous oblong pool. Zoisite had flirtingly questioned Ami's position as the fastest swimmer of the gang, and (not being one to back down from a challenge, particularly from someone like Zoisite), Ami had dared him to a race.

"Come on, Ami!" Serena yelled after them. Her friend's dark blue hair, the only part currently visible, was several inches in front of Zoisite's unruly, coppery-blond mop as the two streaked through the water. Zoisite appeared to be gaining on Ami as the neared the wall, but with a final burst of speed Ami zoomed forward and beat him by a hairsbreadth.

"I win!" Ami declared triumphantly, her sapphire eyes sparkling in exhilaration at the victory. Zoisite rested an arm on the pool's edge and smiled at her.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks," Ami said, surprised by his reaction. She would have expected him to pout or make excuses, not compliment her. For a moment she met his bright, emerald-green eyes, then looked away, a blush flooding her cheeks. She started to push off from the wall towards the shallow end, careful to avoid his eyes, but he caught her wrist before she could escape.

"Ami..."

Looking up reflexively at her name, her eyes darted between Zoisite's face and his hand on her wrist, unable to stay focused on either. She looked so adorable with her mouth slightly open in confusion, treading water with her three free limbs to stay afloat. Unfortunately for him, before he could say anything else a loud splash ruined the moment. With an almost audible sigh of relief she pulled her hand free and struck out for the source of the interruption, leaving Zoisite to watch her go.

"Woops," Rei remarked calmly, not showing any sign of concern as she looked down to see Jadeite rise from the pool and spit the chlorinated water from his mouth. After giving Zoisite an apologetic look on Ami's behalf, Serena hurried over to help Jadeite out. The blonde man panted hard until he could catch his breath. He looked at Rei in utter shock.

"What was that for?" he demanded from Rei. "I wasn't even _doing_ anything to you!"

"My foot slipped," Rei lied. In truth, a certain green-eyed monster of jealousy was rearing its ugly head inside of her. She just couldn't help envying the curvaceous redhead who had captured Jadeite's attention.

Serena raised her eyebrows at Rei but kept her silence. Something was going on, and, in her opinion, it was her job to find out. Jadeite, who could never stay bad-tempered for long, was heading for the redhead with a charming smile on his face. Rei fumed silently and glared murderously at the woman, who simply took no notice of her. Serena looked over to what Rei was scowling at.

"You _cannot_ tell me that you weren't jealous just now," Serena said, a smirk appearing on her face.

"J-jealous? Why should I be jealous? Let that idiot hit on his redheaded wench, I don't care."

One glance at her meatball headed friend told Rei that she remained disbelieving.

"I am _not_ convinced. I think Jadeite's beginning to grow on you, whether you like it or not. Think about that, Rei." With that said, Serena walked off to her pool chair.

"What was all that about?" Andrew asked curiously.

Serena slid into her chair, grinning secretively. "Can I trust you, Andrew?"

The arcade owner nodded in earnest. "What's up?"

Serena halted when she realized Darien had walked up to where the two were seated. He frowned in confusion as he toweled off his dripping wet hair. "What?"

The blue-eyed girl sighed in resignation. "Alright, baka, you can listen too."

Though Darien had no idea what was going on, he decided it would be interesting to find out. He sat down with the two blondes and listened to Serena's fervent whispering. She clapped a hand over Darien's mouth whenever he tried to argue, vexing him to no end.

"Is that a good plan, or what?" she asked with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"I don't know," Darien said, always ready to disagree with what Serena said.

"Come on, Darien, for once in your life _please_ just admit that Serena has come up with a brilliant plan," Andrew said with an obnoxiously large grin.

Serena beamed adoringly at him, causing _Darien's_ monster to awaken. _Wish she'd smile at _me_ like that.(Oh really?)Argh, not you again. (Yes, me) Look, will you leave me alone? (Not until I've decided that you can sort your feelings out on your own)Oh, and what feelings would those be? _

"Hey, Darien!" Andrew shouted.

"Huh?" Darien looked up to see everyone leaving. "Wait for me!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Nephrite lifted the lid of a pot to smell a rich aroma emanating from it. "It smells delicious, Lita. What is it?"

"A Scottish recipe I got from Mina's mom," Lita said as she measured out some flour and sugar into a mixing bowl.

Nephrite blanched. "I-it's not haggis is it?" he asked, mentioning the popular Scottish dish. He hastily slammed the lid back onto the simmering concoction.

Lita giggled at the man's reaction. "No, it's not. Though I _have_ tried haggis before and it's delicious." She laughed at Nephrite's face. "It's called kedgeree."

"Come again?"

"Kedgeree." Lita explained. "It's haddock in a curry."

Nephrite was hesitant to try a new food, especially if it had such an odd name, but he decided that something that smelled so good couldn't taste _that_ bad. He looked up at Lita, intending to ask when it would be done, but all thoughts of food suddenly vanished from his mind.

She was intently mixing all of the ingredients for dessert, a look of intense concentration on her face. Her arms and hands were covered with sugar and flour and a sprinkling of sugar had gotten on her nose. Despite her disheveled appearance, she resembled a goddess in Nephrite's eyes. A messy one, but a goddess nonetheless.

Without thinking, he approached her and stopped the hand that was mixing. He took the whisk out of her hand and set it down on the counter. Startled, Lita looked up, her heart pounding so hard against her chest from the unexpected touch that she was sure Nephrite could hear it. She gazed up at his swarthy, chiseled face, trying to discern the unreadable expression in his brown eyes. Hesitantly, she placed her hands on his solid chest, and discovered that his heartbeat was as erratic as hers.

Taking her action as all the encouragement he needed, Nephrite wordlessly lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers. Lita's eyes fluttered shut as she leaned on his body for support, sliding her arms up to clasp her hands behind his neck. They stayed like that, shrouded in steam and the smell of spices, for what seemed like hours. Finally, the need for air forced them apart and the stood facing each other, their breathing labored. Before either of them could speak, however, the door burst open and a hungry, chattering mob swarmed into the villa, cutting off anything Lita and Nephrite wanted to say. Giving each other one last meaningful look, they continued as if nothing had happened.

Lita raised her voice cheerfully. "Okay, everybody, dinner's almost ready. Why don't the girls go off and shower in our villa, and the guys here, and then we'll eat." She caught Mina giving her a sly look and frowned bewilderedly.

"What?"

A huge grin stretched across Mina's face, something that didn't escape Jadeite's notice. Puzzled, he glanced over to see what she was looking at, and grinned as well, raising his eyebrows at Nephrite.

"So, Neph... what have you and Lita been up to?"

* * *

Whew! Fairly long chapter. Nephrite and Lita seem to be getting along well, no? My thanks to: 

MoonPrincess568- Glad you love it.

star-princess-sakura- I hope this chapter's just as funny.

Kimmy- Lol, thanks for the seven reviews for chapter 7. I guess it got screwed up but thank you!

Sailor Usagi Chiba- Thank you!

Ghetto Queen- I'm glad you're back, thanks for the review!

Starlit Warrior- Thank you!

Sapphire Midnight- That makes me very happy!

xX Silver Cat Xx- I'm glad you find it so funny.

Alantie Mistaniu- Thank you! Cool new name, what's it mean?

sylverwind- Glad to see you're still reviewing, ever faithful as usual.

Moonlightshadows- Thank you for reviewing my stories!

My special thanks to Ocianne! Words cannot express how you have encouraged and helped me!


	9. A Bit Of Weeding

Sooo, did we miss Merry? hisses and boos from audience I thought as much. But I have finally updated, so I hope it will maybe bring about your forgiveness and understanding. Without further ado, here's Chapter Nine!

Disclaimer: Too weary to bother with a disclaimer right now. Rest assured though, I'm sharp enough to know that I don't have any possession of Sailor Moon. Though I think I might own Inuyasha.

* * *

Jadeite's wet feet squelched across the tiled floor as he circled Nephrite, making the older man feel rather nervous. 

"What are you doing Jadeite?" Nephrite asked uneasily.

Suddenly, the blonde ceased his promenade around the unfortunate man and turned to face him. "It is a very interesting case we have here," Jadeite began, "And one that I, the great Merlock Jones—"

"—Sherlock Holmes," corrected Ami.

Jadeite waved his hand lightly to signal that they could talk about his ignorance in English literature another time. "As I was saying, it is a very interesting case that we have here. I call it—" He swooped around dramatically to face his audience. "—The Case of the Disappearing Brown-Haired People."

"Utter brilliance," Rei muttered under her breath.

"Er, Jadeite," Lita interrupted, "We could easily tell you where we've been. We went to Safeway to get groceries and came back to cook dinner."

"Oh, well, yes, I deduced as much," Jadeite replied after recovering his train of thought. "But the real mystery here is why this suspicious trail of flour is on Nephrite's shirt." He pointed to the front of Nephrite black T-shirt and everyone's attention was directed towards two firm floury handprints imprinted on his chest, followed by a trail of flour that traveled up his shirt and, obviously, around his neck. Jadeite smirked triumphantly. "Explain that."

Nephrite and Lita stammered for a while, the latter flushing from embarrassment.

"Well, uh…"

"See, there was…"

"Give it a rest you two," Serena advised, unable to contain her delight.

"Fine," Lita said bad-temperedly. "So I suppose nobody wants dinner, considering the fact that you were so wrapped up in this _mystery_." She turned on her heel and disappeared into the kitchen. Everyone looked at each other for a moment, and then hastily scattered to ready themselves for dinner.

* * *

Ami bowed her head as far down as she possibly could without lodging her face into Lita's fish concoction. She absolutely refused to face him. Ugh, whose idea was it to so conveniently seat Zoisite right across from her? Oh, that's right: his. _All right Ami,_ she said to herself,_ you can handle this. What's so frightening about Zoisite anyway? You never had a problem ignoring him before, so why is it so difficult now? Just keep calm, utterly and completely—_

Ami's thoughts were interrupted when she felt a foot gently brush against her own, causing her to give a yelp. Everyone's attention was instantly attracted by the sound and then held by the spectacle of Ami's face turning pink. She glared at Zoisite. His face was that of absolute innocence, but she'd caught the devilish gleam in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Ami?" Mina asked in concern.

"Eh, n-nothing, I just accidentally stubbed my toe on the table leg," she lied (badly).

Her friends studied her blushing face for a moment before shrugging in turn and returning to their meals, none of them really fooled.

Ami cast Zoisite a frigid look that could have left an army shivering in its boots. Zoisite only smirked flirtatiously. Once Ami had dropped her head down again, his interest was lost, and he too began skewering his fish (though not with as much ferocity as Ami, who was taking pleasure in imagining the slice of haddock to be Zoisite's foot).

Zoisite grinned to himself. He hadn't been able to resist that little slip of the foot. He had to admit, he did feel a bit bad about provoking her so, but he couldn't help it. Mina had once remarked that he seemed to toy with girls more than any serious emotions. It was true. Though Zoisite never hesitated to hide what his true emotions were, he'd never felt the need express love. Oh sure, you loved your parents, relatives, maybe even Mina if she was nice enough, but the significant other kind of love? Unlike Mina, Zoisite wasn't planning on falling in love anytime soon. He was quite satisfied with this chess game he and his lovely match had established.

Thoughts of the moment they'd shared in the pool suddenly sprang unbidden to Zoisite's mind. He recalled his constricted breath and widening eyes. _What happened back there? _the blonde wondered. Then he mentally waved the memory away. _Maybe just a slight case of asthma._

Oh, the ignorance of our heroes.

* * *

As Lita stacked the soiled dishes into the sink, she felt a warm hand at her elbow. There was no need to turn around; one touch was all it took for her to recognize Nephrite. 

"Do you think we could take a short walk?" His baritone queried hopefully.

_Short? Why short!_ "Sure."

Cautiously, the brunette peeked out the doorway leading to the living room. The rest of the company had strewn themselves along the furniture and carpet, watching in interest as the television screen flickered haphazardly between the images of Julia Roberts's thigh high boots and a crowd of people trapped in an elevator. The two responsible for the unruly channel flipping were our beloved blond siblings.

"Mina, I absolutely refuse to watch a chick flick!" Zoisite said as he yanked the remote away and switched it to _Speed._

"Well, who in their right mind would want to see all manner of things blowing up? Put your hand down, Jadeite, you don't count!" she snapped, retrieving the remote and switching it again.

"We'll flip for it then," Zoisite said, taking a quarter from his pocket. "Heads I win, tails you lose."

"Oh please, I haven't fallen for that sorry trick since I was eight."

Wordlessly, a dark-haired being of bad omen (also known as Rei) walked over to the bickering siblings and wrenched the remote from Mina's grasp. "Are you two forgetting that not all of us are fluent in the English language?" bit out the priestess. Before they could respond, she had switched the channel to one of the Japanese TV stations, where a noisy game show was airing. "Not a word," Rei hissed at one and all, her violet eyes just daring them to try to argue. It was as if the priestess had used the remote to mute the living room.

Lita laughed quietly before creeping from the kitchen and motioning for Nephrite to follow. No one noticed them leaving. No one that is, except for Kunzite. For a moment, his green eyes flashed in irritation, and he frowned. But the emotion vanished from his face as soon as Mina came over to sit by him. Staying stone-faced was a routine for the white-haired man, but now, he was meticulous in freezing the cold mask whenever he spotted Mina. Since Mina never hesitated in expressing her feelings, Kunzite felt that the only way he could discourage her was by showing her how unlike each other they were.

"Hi, Kunzite!" Mina greeted as she flopped onto the blue sofa, a few drops of the soda she held spilling onto Kunzite's pants.

He grunted what Mina took as a salutation and swiped his leg of the droplets.

"Sorry," she apologized. She bent over to help him, but was met with a muscular arm barring her way. "Sheesh, aren't we in a bad mood," she said sourly, having honestly meant to help.

Kunzite ignored her and turned to face the television screen. Mina rose and moved to sit on the arm of Ami's chair, thoughts of seducing Kunzite dispelled for the moment.

Serena glanced up at Mina from her seat on the floor and smiled comfortingly. This relationship of hers was turning out to be more than she could handle (or arrange). The pigtailed girl turned back and planted her elbows back in the carpet, wriggling like a snake in order to find a comfortable position.

"She's got it bad for the wrong person," Jadeite said from his seat next to Serena.

"Are you implying that you're the right one?" his cousin teased as she twisted to converse with the blonde man.

Jadeite couldn't help smiling at the thought. Maybe when he finally gave up on Rei, he _could _set his sights Mina. After all, she was very attractive. _It's always good to keep your options open. _"Funny. But it sure is a Herculean task trying to seduce that guy."

Serena refrained from asking him if he'd tried his hand at it. Instead she said, "Speaking of seduction, I had an interesting talk with Rei. Turns out she'd completely go for you if you weren't such a cocky playboy." Okay, so she'd twisted her words around a bit, but that was the gist of it.

Jadeite's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? She said that?" _Hold on, _he thought,_ why would I want to stop being a cocky playboy? Wait!… I'm not cocky._

"More or less. And, Jadeite you're gonna love this, I—" A jab in her shoulder interrupted Serena.

"Quiet down, Meatball Head," none other than Darien whispered.

"Since when do I take notice of domineering creeps like you?" Serena snapped.

"Ah, I believe you're referring to that bulky guy you were checking out at the car rental place?"

Serena's brow crinkled indignantly as she attempted to hold back a blush. "I was _not_ checking him out! And he wasn't 'bulky' as you so nastily put it."

"So you admit that you were indeed having a look at said ape," Darien taunted. Wait, what kind of argument was this? Their squabbles usually ran along the lines of "You eat like a greedy pig," "You're very immature," or "Your grades are low." Or that was the polite way to put all of Darien's jibes. Come to think of it, it seemed like he did the insulting and name-calling most of the time.

"…furthermore, obviously no one has informed you that that disgusting green blazer deserves to be shredded to pieces, burned, and have its ashes scattered to the four winds." _I've been hanging around Rei too long, _thought Serena.

Darien cocked an eyebrow. Well, most of the time.

"Would you two quiet down all ready?" ordered the normally good-tempered Zoisite. He was trying to watch that fat lady on TV take a stab at singing, dammit!

Darien and Serena did as commanded and dropped back into their former positions.

"I'll tell you about it later," Serena whispered to her cousin.

* * *

Lita didn't think she'd ever been out on such a perfect night. The velvety sky provided a perfect canvas for the stars to sparkle and the silvery moon to gleam down upon the world. She and Nephrite made their way along the winding stone path, delicate white flowers lining the sides of the walkway. 

"Lovely night," Nephrite murmured.

Lita nodded, her attention straying from the scenery as she looked Nephrite's way. To her surprise, he was alternating between nervously fiddling with his collar and licking his lips. Said lips held her gaze for a moment or two as she recalled the kiss they'd shared. It had been…well, marvelous. Unlike any she'd ever experienced.

Anyway, why was Nephrite so anxious?

"Is something wrong, Nephrite?"

The man started at the question. "What? Oh—um, no, nothing's wrong." He returned to his fidgety actions, which was beginning to vex Lita. _Spit it out, already!_

Her eyebrows nearly joined her nose upon hearing the obvious untruth. "I'm sure," she muttered under her breath.

Nephrite stifled a smile. "Not the best liar, am I?" he laughed.

"No, you're—I mean…" Now it was Lita who took up the fidgeting, her cheeks glowing. Now Nephrite was no longer able to suppress the smile. Gently, he took Lita by the wrist and led her over to a moonlit spot by a hedge.

"Lita," he began, his confidence renewing itself, "I don't quite know what's been happening to me lately, but…" He inhaled and stared up at the twinkling stars as if imploring them for help.

Lita leaned forward as she waited for Nephrite to continue.

"It's wonderful, whatever it is. These past few days I've spent with you—I am no good at this sort of thing—have altered my whole outlook on life." _Jeez, Nephrite, you're acting like she's your guru or something. Altered your outlook on life; how's that for romance? _As these criticizing thoughts raced through the man's head his eyes rested on Lita's shining green ones. In that instant, everything he'd planned on saying vanished from his mind. All he could do now was speak from his heart. "Though we haven't known each other very long, I'm willing to spend any amount of time getting to know everything about you; your dreams and desires, your fears, your drive. But I-I don't know how or why or when or even if you—" Nephrite was bewildered when a finger was placed upon his lips, effectively silencing him. Lita regarded him with such tenderness and understanding that Nephrite knew he needn't explain anymore.

The brunette smiled and felt like laughing and crying at the same time. All this emotion over a person she'd barely met! Maybe it wasn't quite love yet, but Lita knew in her heart of hearts it was well on its way to the turbulent emotion. "Oh, Nephrite," Lita sighed, at a loss at what to say. "Yes."

It was amazing what one word could do to a person. Nephrite didn't even have to phrase the question; Lita had answered it. He felt like singing, except for the fact that the last time he'd sung, Jadeite had begun handing out earmuffs to the whole class. Seventh grade had been tough.

"Mmmf," attempted Nephrite.

Lita giggled and removed the offending digit. "Sorry. Didn't mean to restrain your speech."

"It wasn't my speech you were restraining," he whispered, and Lita thrilled at the gravelly tone of his voice and the lips that were slowly descending upon hers.

"Nephrite and that pigtailed girl's friend!" a screech rent the night air. "Who would have guessed?"

The two jumped and quickly separated at the sound. To Nephrite's astonishment he saw a head pop out of the nearby hedge just as if it had been a daisy. One with a creepy pair of red eyes…

"Really, Neph, this is not what I'd have picked out for you," Ann chided, referring to Lita as if she were a retail shirt. Lita was so shocked by the mysterious girl's sprouting from the bushes that she forgot to take offense.

"Ann! H-how? What are you doing here?" demanded a stunned Nephrite.

"Just paying the Aloha State a visit," she responded with a smirk.

Nephrite had heard tales of Ann and had met her (well, actually spotted her trailing Darien) once before, but he still could not grasp the situation. "B-but here? I mean, isn't that a little extreme?"

"I haven't the slightest clue what you mean. Ah, well I'm heading over to visit a handsome friend of ours, so ta for now!" And before Nephrite could reply, Ann had leaped out of the hedge and dashed down the path.

"I've seen some bizarre things in my life, but this just takes the cake."

"I hear you. Well, might as well warn poor Darien that a red-eyed weed has budded and is after him once again." Nephrite caught the dumbfounded look on Lita's face and grinned. "Don't worry, Lita, I'll explain."

Lita nodded and to Nephrite's astonishment and delight she timidly took his hand. As they made their way back to the villas, sneaking a glance at each other now and then, Nephrite had to admit that despite Ann's appearance, things were looking a lot brighter.

* * *

"Lock and chain the door! Bar the windows! Plug up the fireplace!" 

"Hate to break it to you Darien my friend, but the door doesn't have chains, there are no bars for the windows, and I don't believe I've noticed any fireplace," Zoisite said, unable to hide his amusement at Darien's frenzied commands.

"Well," Darien said hesitatingly, "do something!"

Andrew swiped his mustard yellow hair back from his face as he contemplated the best way to calm his friend. _That'll work, _he decided. "Darien. You need. To get. A GRIP!" He ignored the black-haired man's astonishment as he continued. "I understand that Ann's coming here isn't exactly your dream vacation, especially since you wanted to get away from her. But you've got to face the facts: Ann is here. She is making her presence known. Loudly, I might add," Andrew said, trying to block out the brunette's pounding on the door. "We'll try our best to avoid her, but the last thing we need now is for you to go nutso on us!"

Darien could only blink in response to this sudden outburst. After clearing his head, however, he nodded tentatively. "Okay," was all he could utter.

"Well," Zoisite piped up brightly, "you have to give her credit. She sure is tenacious." He winced as a severely deafening cry for Darien tore into the villa.

Everyone was taken aback when a sudden pounding came from a window on the opposite side of the villa.

"Did she bring a girlfriend or something?" asked Jadeite, half-hopefully. Unlike Darien, the prospect of girls fawning over him was one he greeted willingly.

"It seems our friend Nephrite has deigned to join us," Kunzite's monotone announced as Nephrite pulled himself through the painfully small window. With a final squeeze, he burst unceremoniously out of the window frame and tumbled onto the floor. Kunzite gave him a hand up and the chestnut-haired man attempted to get his breath.

"**Pant** Didn't want **pant** to use **wheeze** front door because of—"

"Ann," his friends chorused.

"Forget Ann, what's been going on between you and Lita?" Jadeite asked, with a grin.

Nephrite suddenly felt the need to rub the back of his neck nervously. "Erm, nothing…"

"As they so eloquently put it back in London, that's bullocks," Zoisite chipped in.

Andrew smiled at the usually stolid man's discomfort. "All right Nephrite, spilling shall take place later on—"

"Thanks," said Nephrite, relieved.

"—and then you can give us all the juicy details on your make-out session in the kitchen," finished the arcade owner impertinently. With a last laugh, Andrew zipped up the stairs, an angry Nephrite close at his heels.

* * *

Upon entering her villa, Lita was met with four eager faces (_Even Ami!)_ waiting for her to "spill the peas," in Mina's words. The blue-eyed blonde grinned delightedly before hopping off the sofa and giving the brunette an enquiring look. 

"Well, well, well, do you have something to share with us, Lita?" Mina's face showed that she was about ready to burst with questions.

"What our blonde friend is trying to say is, is Nephrite a good kisser?"

"Rei!" everyone reproached.

The raven-haired girl shrugged. "Just trying to voice the group's thoughts." She raised her eyebrows slightly as she watched Lita visibly swoon, her emerald-green eyes glistening. "Hmm, seems to me this guy shouldn't be looked upon so apathetically." Though she tried not to show it, Rei was quite keen on hearing all about Lita's new love interest.

"Damn straight," agreed Mina. She rubbed her hands together, the epitome of devious pleasure.

Serena beamed at the dreamy look on Lita's face. "Come on, Lita you _have_ to tell us about it. It's like an unspoken rule."

Their blue-haired friend had stayed silent for the majority of the time, but decided to hesitantly say, "You know, Lita, throughout your whole acquaintanceship with Nephrite—" Rei snorted here "—not once have you spoken the phrase that you nearly always declare after meeting a man to your liking."

"Ah yes," said Rei mischievously, "that overused phrase of yours, 'he looks just like my old boyfriend.'" She swooped dramatically to accentuate her statement, eliciting a few giggles.

"You're right," Lita spoke, her forehead crinkling thoughtfully. "I think it might be because…Nephrite's nothing like him." Unbeknownst to Lita, who was smiling wistfully to herself, the same thing was running through her friends' astonished minds: _Could Nephrite be the one?_

* * *

As Nephrite began pulling an astronomy book out of his suitcase, humming a tune all the while, he watched Kunzite from the corner of his eye. Maybe it was just his imagination, but it seemed to him that the white-haired man had been even more reticent than ever this evening. If one knew him well enough one could tell when Kunzite was displeased or enjoying himself. It was definitely not the latter. 

"Anything wrong, Kunz?"

Kunzite was jolted from his meditative stance. He turned to Nephrite and uttered a monosyllabic, "No." With that, Kunzite turned round once more and sat in his silence upon his bed.

"Mmmhmm," Nephrite said in disbelief. "It's me and Lita, isn't it?"

"I don't know why you'd think that." Kunzite twisted slightly to look at his roommate (somehow or another, they'd managed to stick Zoisite and Jadeite together in the next room for at least a few days). "I'm not envious or anything."

"I know you're not; that's not the kind of emotion you'd ever let take hold of you, which is good. But Kunzite, disapproving of our relationship? It's like something my mother would do."

Kunzite sighed. "Yes, all right, I shouldn't act this way just because you've found a precious girl," here he smiled slightly, "and it's begun to change you. It was just unexpected for me."

"Changed me?" Nephrite's tone was surprised. "I-I guess I hadn't realized that was happening. But don't worry, it's not going to alter my whole personality or anything. And one day, I think I can safely say you're going to go through this same experience."

The green-eyed man couldn't suppress a snort. "And go around with a dazed, goofy expression on my face? I find that highly unlikely."

For a moment Nephrite wondered if that was an accurate description of his current state, then asked curiously, "What about Mina? She's a nice girl."

"We're complete opposites. I find it exasperating how she insists on targeting me in this hare-brained seduction of hers."

Nephrite stayed silent, taking this in pensively. He cast his eyes out the window to watch the stars glimmer in their merry, reassuring manner. _One day Kunzite, true love is going to find you. And then maybe you'll realize that it's true what they say: opposites attract._

* * *

Have the stars dictated this to Nephrite? No silly, the author has! Anyway, hope this chapter was at least to your minute enjoyment. Watch out for a few twists in the next one! 

Thanks to: star-princess-sakura, Meg-of-the-Moon, Ghetto Queen, . (hey that's all there was in the name), samsonite, MoonPrincess568, Mouse32, VAB (Note: The couples will each get their own chapters, but that first kiss between Lita and Nephrite wasn't that one right scene), Starlit Warrior, Moonlightshadows, Khmer Girl, Jedite's Flame, The Final Stillness of Saturn, Alantie Mistaniu, Giselle, mimi, firebirdflame, Hiei's Vampire Kitten, Athena Kyle (no, I don't live there, but it's probably my favorite vacationing spot!), sailorserena141, elianthos, and a big, warm thanks to Ocianne, whose editing and guidance have helped this story come a long way!


	10. Admirers and Saviors

Yes, I haven't updated for months, I know. -Hangs head- I apologize. But I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Disclaimer: Disclaim here.

* * *

Serena was suffering from insomnia. She'd slept so much in the last day she just couldn't fall asleep now. She rolled around in the minute space that was her bed more times than she could count. She propped her pillow up with another pillow, then another one, and then, having run out of her own pillows, she filched Rei's pillow from under the other girl's head. The priestess gave a tiny snort, and then turned over in her sleep. 

So now Serena lay atop her four pillows, her brilliant blue eyes staring up at the ceiling. This would never do. She hadn't flown across the Pacific to scrutinize the tiny holes in her ceiling! Anyway, she saved that pastime for English class. Rising resolutely from her bed she strode over to her window. She opened it all the way, allowing a calming draught of air to billow her loose waves of hair. As she looked out into the night from her second story window, her eyes caught a glimpse of the ocean, beyond a clump of palm trees and a grassy circle. It must look lovely in the moonlight, she mused.

_(Well, why not go and see for yourself? You came here for adventure and new experiences, right Serena?)_ Serena nodded to herself. _(So get out there!)_ Nodding again, Serena slipped her feet into her flip-flops and made for the door. _(What do you think you're doing?)_ Serena stopped, blinking. _(What kind of pathetic adventurer are you? Walking out the door is_ not_ the adventurous way.)_ Uh, then which way was she supposed to go? Did her inner thoughts expect her to flap her pigtails and fly to the beach? _(No. Didn't you notice that drainpipe running by the window?)_ Frowning, Serena backtracked to the window and craned her head out of it. She saw that there was indeed a thick drainpipe running alongside the window all the way to the ground. But, climb down? _(Why not?) Why not, indeed?_ Rope-climbing was her favorite part of gym class. And it looked safe enough, with some thick ferns and grass below to cushion her fall if she happened to slip. _I'll do it!_ she thought in excitement.

Carefully, she swung a leg over the windowsill. Then, she stretched out an arm and caught hold of the drainpipe, glad to see that it was as sturdy as she'd thought. The rest of her limbs followed and soon Serena was climbing down the pipe like a little blonde monkey. Hand-over-foot she made her way down without difficulty. But just as she reached the seven-foot mark, her foot slipped on a sprinkle of water and she felt herself falling backwards and not towards the soft grass as she'd imagined, but cold, hard pavement.

Serena shut her eyes tight, readying herself for the impact. But it never came. Instead she found herself tumbling onto something soft, muscular, and oddly humanoid...

"Oomph!" gasped out the human cushion. With a squeal, Serena scrambled to her feet, apologizing profusely. Her savior got up as well.

"Meatball Head! What the…"

Serena's mouth fell open as she recognized the dark, tousled hair and the strapping figure. " Darien!" For a few moments they gaped at each other in the dim light, looking quite comical.

"Wh-what are you…" Serena sputtered, her loquacious nature failing her.

"Did you fall out your window?" Darien finally managed to ask.

"N-no." Serena felt herself turning red. Of all the people who could've caught her climbing down the villa, it had to be the jerk. It just had to be.

"Then…" Darien spotted the drainpipe gleaming in the moonlight. "You were climbing down that thing!" he exclaimed.

"So what if I was!" the blonde growled back defiantly. Darian might be a jerk, but the night deserved better than to be disturbed by shouting.

"You could have hurt yourself, you little idiot!"

"What I do does NOT concern you, Chiba. If I want to climb down a drainpipe, I'll do it and I don't need you playing mother hen." She glowered at him, blue eyes narrowed into irritated slits. Why did he care, anyway?

Darien watched her slim shoulders shake with fury, the pink flannel of her pajamas ruffled from the fall. He huffed in exasperation. What an immature brat she was. "Fine, Meatball Brains, just see what happens when you try that again and I'm not there to catch you."

Serena snorted. "Catch me? I think it went more along the lines of my landing on your ass!"

Darien smirked. "Either way, it proved to me that you really have to lay off the sweets."

The girl gave a squawk of indignation. "That had _better_ not mean what I think it does."

Darien leaned in, meeting her eyes challengingly. "I think it just might."

" Chiba, you are the most detestable man I have ever met," hissed Serena. She tried desperately to appear unfazed at the close distance that separated them. She could hear his even breathing, see his ebony bangs hanging over his eyes – and damn the man, those cobalt blues should be registered as lethal weapons.

"I love you too, Meatball Head."

It had slipped out carelessly, heavy with sarcasm, but Serena couldn't help but take notice of the statement. Trying to clear her head, she backed away. "I'm going to bed." The ocean would just have to wait for another time. Serena swerved around, about to head for the door, when a rather important realization demanded attention. "Argh, I don't have my key," she murmured to herself.

"Let me guess, you don't have your key."

_Thank you, Captain Obvious_. "I'm going to climb back up," she said without turning to face him.

"Oh no, you're not. Do you want a broken leg?"

_Once again, why does it matter to you_? "It'd be better than staying out here with you," retorted Serena.

"Look, I think if you stand on my shoulders you might be able to reach the window sill," he offered, the epitome of noble sacrifice (or so he thought).

"Nothing doing, Chiba."

Darien sighed. Why was she so difficult? "Then go and knock on the door!"

"And have the girls laugh their heads off at me when they find out what I did? I don't think so. I'm going back up."

Darien watched as she took hold of the pipe and began climbing up. Well, at least he was there to catch her in case she decided to take another tumble.

"Why on earth did you climb down that thing in the first place?" he called.

Serena looked down over her shoulder. "To see the moonlit ocean, if it's any of your business."

The blonde made it to the window ledge without incident and nimbly slipped inside, then leaned back over the sill. Her hair slipped around as well, stirring in the breeze. Almost without conscious thought, Darien noted that her hair was out of its meatball style, and glowing a pale silver-gold, smooth as silk… and the rational part of his brain promptly crushed his introspective side before it could continue, or even worse, _comment_.

"Why were _you_ out so late?" she asked curiously.

"Couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd go and get some coffee."

Serena rolled her eyes. "You and your coffee," she said, forgetting that all the villas were already equipped with coffee, sugar, cream, and percolator.

An awkward silence fell. Was she supposed to bid her worst enemy goodnight or something? It was too weird.

Luckily (or not), Darien handled the problem. "Well, go to sleep and don't snore too loudly," he advised with an impudent grin, a flash of white against the darkness.

"Aaagh!" The window was slammed down with a bang. Chuckling, Darien thrust his hands into his pockets he set off along the walkway, towards the beach and the sight of moon-glow on the waves.

)))))))-((((((((

In the morning, Lita woke up to a knock at the front door.

"Who could that be?" Mina mumbled drowsily from her bed.

"Dunno," responded Lita. When the knock came again she threw the covers off and half-tumbled out of bed. "Don't get up," she quipped sardonically as she passed Mina, who had snuggled further into her bed.

"Don't worry, I won't," yawned the blonde.

The knock came a third time, impatient but trying not to convey it. As Lita hurried down the stairs, she heard the downstairs shower running, which explained why Ami hadn't yet answered the door. Lita flung the door open.

"Room service," gasped out the poor man before her. He seemed to be dying beneath the weight of the tray. Lita rushed to help him, taking the tray and setting it on the table. Furrowing her brows, she looked back at the hotel worker, who was wiping his brow of sweat.

"I don't think any of us ordered room service," she said with puzzlement.

The waiter shrugged. "I just deliver the food, ma'am. And don't worry about the bill, the breakfast's already been paid for. Have a nice day." With a nod, he exited the villa, leaving a confused Lita behind.

She stared at the tray, taking in the many covered plates set upon it, their stainless steel lids mirroring her puzzled face. She lifted the top off one of the plates and inhaled the smell of eggs benedict. _Well, at least I don't have to worry about cooking._ As she replaced the cover, she saw a slender vase almost hidden behind everything else. Inside the vase stood a single lavender orchid, its petals soft and delicate, and attached was a small envelope. Turning the envelope over, Lita read the name and her eyes widened. She quickly dashed for Ami's bathroom and began to pound upon it furiously.

"Ami! Ami! Get out here!"

))))))-((((((

"Do you reckon if I jumped out the window, the fall would kill me?"

Jadeite considered the matter deeply before answering, "No, not quite. But it'd sure be messy."

"Well, I thought about that very hard last night as I lay awake, listening to you talking in your sleep!" Zoisite shouted. "Geez Jed, what kind of things do you dream about anyway?"

Jadeite only grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know..."

Zoisite rubbed his temples as he muttered, "Sorry I asked."

Jadeite unceremoniously rolled out of bed. "You're just mad because you don't have a beautiful priestess to dream about."

"Seriously, I'm going to murder you before the end of this week."

Jadeite brandished his fists, eyes glinting with amusement. "Watch it, girly, or that ponytail of yours will be hanging on my wall."

Zoisite rolled his eyes. "I'm taking a shower." He trudged into the connecting bathroom.

"Loser," Jadeite grumbled.

"I heard that!"

Jadeite grinned to himself. Zoi really was a wuss sometimes, but you couldn't help loving him.

As Jadeite haphazardly tossed the sheets onto the bed the phone began to ring, accompanied by the blinking red light. He picked up the receiver.

"This is the stunning and single Jadeite speaking, how may I help you?"

In the pause that followed, he could practically hear the person on the other line roll her eyes. "One day, you're going to elope with yourself, Ito," came Lita's voice.

"I'll be sure to invite you to the wedding, my dear Lita. Food ready?"

Lita laughed from the other end. "It is, but under weird circumstances. Look, tell the rest of the guys to hurry and get ready for breakfast and then come over here, okay?"

"Okay, but what are these weird--" He was cut off as Lita hung up.

Frowning to himself, Jadeite absentmindedly began flicking one of Zoisite's hair bands in his fingers as he wondered about the "weird circumstances" Lita had mentioned. Whatever could she mean?

))))))-((((((

"Open it, open it, open it!" Mina sang out zealously. She was clapping her hands with glee while the other girls watched Ami in anticipation. They'd gathered round the blue-haired girl after hearing about her mysterious breakfast and orchid.

Ami detached the envelope from the onyx vase and turned it over in her hand. Who was it from? _It had better not be a love letter_, she thought to herself ominously. Her dexterous fingers opened the envelope somewhat shakily and she read the contents of the card inside.

"What does it say?" Rei demanded impatiently.

In her soft-spoken voice Ami read out loud, "I would be honored if you would meet me in the hotel lobby at 7:00 PM today. Yours truly, a friend."

"That's it?" asked Mina with some disappointment. No professions of love? No _poetry_?

"That's it." No one was quite sure what to think of the succinct message.

"Well, he did send you this flower," Mina said in her upbeat way. "So that must make him your secret admirer."

The others shook their heads as the blonde proceeded to chant, "Ami's got an admirer," in falsetto.

"Hey, we want food!" came a sudden shout from outside. It appeared that the men had arrived.

"There be the quintessential gentlemen," Rei drawled. She answered the door and the men practically stampeded into the room. They stopped in unison upon hearing Mina, who was still chanting about Ami's admirer.

"Ami has an admirer?" Zoisite asked.

Ami quickly hid the card in her jean pocket, refusing to make eye contact with anyone, especially _him_, and hoped desperately that everything would blow over soon. It couldn't be healthy to go around beet-red such extended periods of time. There the card would hide, between layers of pressed denim, the recipient unaware of what its brisk message would mean.

))))))-((((((

Andrew watched Darien from the corner of a keen eye as they walked side-by-side. They were all making their way to the beach, not having paid any heed to the blonde's warning to wait half an hour after eating (though, given the huge breakfast they'd just consumed, they should probably wait two hours). Fine, if they wanted to ignore someone who had served them food nearly every day for the past three years, let them. Andrew had slung a towel over his bare shoulder and set a (in his opinion) very sharp pair of sunglasses on his head.

He'd been waiting for a chance to talk to his friend away from their chattering mob of companions.

"Can't wait to go to the beach. From what I saw in a picture, this hotel's beachfront is beautiful and practically empty," he began casually.

For some reason, Darien cleared his throat in a guilty manner. "Sounds good."

Andrew nodded. "You know, Darien, I had a pretty vivid dream last night."

The ebony-haired man turned to Andrew, suspicion rising in his eyes.

"Well, my dream was one of those dreams within a dream. I dreamt that I woke up to find that you were gone. I figured you had gone to get a drink of water or something so I didn't think anything of it. But then—in my dream— I thought I heard something coming from outside. I went to the window, opened it, and in front of the girls' villa, I saw, of all people, you and Serena!" Darien made an indiscernible sound, which Andrew chose to ignore. "I could only catch a few words of what you two were saying. Serena said something about landing on your ass and you were talking about sweets. Then you leaned so close to her that if my mind's eye wasn't so acute I could've sworn you were kissing."

Darien tried spluttering in protest, but nothing intelligible seemed to come out.

"Then you started talking or arguing or something and Serena, for some odd reason, climbed up that drainpipe that runs alongside her window and climbed into her room. You two said some other things that I couldn't hear and then you walked off down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Then, the dream me, lay back in bed to wait for you. But I—dreamy Andrew, that is— ended up falling asleep. It was weird, but hey, it was only a dream right?" Andrew grinned innocently, if that was possible. Deviousness had a tendency to sneak in when he wasn't paying attention.

"Andrew."

"Yeah?"

"Not another word."

Nothing more was said about Andrew's "dream" though the blonde couldn't seem to be able to keep a mischievous smile off his face. The two were lagging behind so they caught up with the rest of the group. Only Jadeite and Kunzite were missing, as they were discussing something or other off to the side.

"You remember the plan, right?"

"Yes, Mina, it's not that hard to remember. What do you take us for, dimwits?"

"How aptly you describe yourself, brother dear."

"Don't worry, Mina, everything will go just as you've said," Lita assured her.

"But this is Kunzite we're talking about, Mina. He's not exactly an egg short a dozen."

"Who said anything about eggs?"

Nephrite shook his head. "Never mind."

"There it is!" Serena exclaimed suddenly.

Everyone looked at the sprawling white sands and the turquoise ocean beyond. The sun washed it in light, promising a heavenly day. With a few shrieks, the group bolted the remaining yards.

))))))-((((((

He was a tiger. A tiger on the prowl. A tiger with his prey right in his sight. Prey with slim, toned legs stretched out in the sun's rays. Creamy arms were crossed beneath her head, giving an even better view of her mint green bikini and sarong. The best part was that she looked to be napping with her sunglasses shading her eyes. Her breathing was steady and even as the tiger drew nearer and nearer.

"One centimeter closer, Ito, and I'll show you that these nails aren't just for polishing."

Apparently, the prey had talons even more lethal than those of a tiger.

Disappointed, Jadeite withdrew from his exotic prey. Nephrite and Lita, who sat nearby seemed to be trying awfully hard not to laugh at him.

"Wonderfully executed," Nephrite managed around his ear-splitting grin.

Sulkily, Jadeite told him what to do to himself, and retreated beneath an umbrella.

"Maybe you should try a different angle, Rei," suggested Lita to her friend. "Maybe if you were all sugary sweetness it would shock him enough to leave you alone."

The bikini-clad beauty sleepily mumbled something that sounded like 'when pigs fly.'

Lita smiled, which caused Nephrite to smile too. Did she know how infectious her smile was? She turned laughing eyes to him. "Are we going to lie around here all day?" she asked.

Nephrite stretched out on his side, propping his head up with an elbow. His beautifully carved body practically gleamed in the sun and he brushed a few brown curls from his face as he grinned at her. For the millionth time that day Lita thought how lucky she was. "That was my plan. What do you suggest we do?"

"Swim, of course!"

"I'd rather laze."

Lita crawled up to him and drew so close that their foreheads touched. "Come _on_, Nephy."

Nephrite cleared his throat and tried to slow his breathing. Pulling back he said, "You didn't just call me that."

She giggled. "Maybe you're scared I can out-swim you."

"Not really, I'm just having a nice time surveying you in that tight swimsuit." He waggled an eyebrow.

Lita fought back a blush by rolling her eyes. "No, you're just lazy. Some fun you are." Not ten seconds after the words left her mouth, she let out a sudden squeal as she found herself being swept into Nephrite's muscular arms. With a few strides he was standing waist-high in the ocean water, still cradling Lita in his arms.

"You're going to find out just how much fun I can be, my dear Lita."

This time she couldn't stop the blush.

))))))-((((((

"Mina's plan isn't going to work," Zoisite said, shaking his head. Ami shrugged wordlessly, though she secretly agreed with him, and returned to the book she was reading.

Zoisite was not the type who liked to be ignored. He sidled up closer to Ami underneath the umbrella they'd found themselves sharing and said, "So, about this admirer."

Ami said curtly, "There is no admirer."

"Then what do you call him?"

Ami shut her book as calmly as possible. "I don't need to call this person anything."

"Secret lover, maybe?" he suggested in his irrepressible way.

"Zoisite, please just leave me alone."

To her surprise, Zoisite complied, scooting over to converse with Jadeite and a bronzed beauty the blue-eyed man had acquainted himself with.

Ami sighed in relief. Maybe the impossible man was growing tired of her? A small smile formed on her lips as she considered this. As if reading her thoughts, Zoisite turned his head from the other girl and blew Ami a kiss that seemed to say, 'Don't think I've forgotten about you.'

Groaning, Ami hit herself lightly in the head with her book.

))))))-((((((

Kunzite focused intently on the flagged rock that signaled the dangerous currents beyond. He stroked strongly towards it at a steady pace, timing himself as he did so. It was nice to be able to lose himself in the tedious task of swimming extensive laps from the shore to the rock in the refreshing ocean waters. It gave him solitude and a way to channel his energy into something. He was halfway to his destination when he heard an unusual sound.

He stopped short and as he treaded water, turned his head to discover the source of the sound. There was a rock; Nephrite and Lita wading near the shore; sea foam; a white arm in the distance; another rock...Kunzite jolted his head back to see the arm extended just out of the water. Bobbing beside it was a blonde head. Kunzite suddenly realized that the sound he'd heard had been a cry for help. He also realized that the girl was, surprise, surprise, Mina.

))))))-((((((

She lay limp in his arms as he carried her to shore. She'd probably gotten a cramp while swimming, since as far as he knew, she was a good swimmer. Kunzite didn't notice the others and some concerned strangers congregate around the two of them, didn't notice the towel someone draped around his shoulders, the nudges and the winks. He laid the drenched Mina on the sandy beach and kneeled down beside her. She didn't appear to be breathing. His green eyes studied her with hidden concern as he racked his brain for what to do next. Damn it, hadn't he learn anything in lifeguard training?

"Is she...okay?" asked Rei, the most composed of the group.

She was. She had to be.

"Maybe a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation'll do the trick," Andrew suggested slyly.

Lita elbowed him none-too-gently in the ribs and Kunzite noticed the action. Then he looked back down at Mina and saw the slight, infinitesimal movement that gave everything away. She'd smiled.

Slowly, Kunzite got to his feet. Throwing the towel to the ground he walked off, leaving everyone including a miraculously restored Mina to stare at his retreating form. Stupefied strangers left the crowd, storing the event away as one to relate to relatives back home. And they said Hawaii was peaceful.

The gang was uncomfortably silent for a while.

"Do you think he knows?" asked Serena.

His sarcasm almost tangible, Darien drawled, "Naw, Meatball Head, he just likes to make dramatic exits."

"For once in your life, Chiba, give your big mouth a rest."

"You guys, please." Mina bit her lip and when she stood, was surprised to feel her knees almost give way beneath her. He'd saved her, and the plan had gone swimmingly until he saw her smile. But she felt wave after wave of guilt come over her. Her conscience was shrieking how petty the whole scheme had been.

She knew it was right.

"Hey, are you okay, Mina?" asked Rei in concern. "Did you swallow a fish back there or something?"

Mina tried to smile. "No, I just...no, I'm all right."

The ten of them began the walk from the beach, a few groans escaping those unfortunate enough to be walking next to the bickering Meatball Head and Bigmouth.

))))))-((((((

"I refuse to wear that."

"Come on, Ami, at least try it," wheedled Serena. Acting as the makeover artist in Mina's stead (who, in a quiet voice, had said she was going to lie down) was harder than she'd expected, especially as she had such an unwilling victim. "Don't you want to look stunning for your secret admirer?"

"Frankly, I couldn't care less. And who, pray tell, said I was even going to meet this person?"

Lita interjected here. "Don't think for one minute your going to get out of meeting this guy, missy!" she said with her hands placed disapprovingly on her hips. "Now put this on—" she handed her Serena's white slip dress "— and come back here so we can make you look fabulous!"

Without giving Ami a split second to protest, she pushed the girl into Serena and Rei's bathroom. She brushed her hands and winked at the others. "She'll love us for this."

In a few minutes, Ami emerged.

"Good," Lita and Serena said in unison as they looked at Ami in approval. The light, summery fabric of the dress certainly complimented the slender girl, and the slit that she'd eyed in dismay was actually quite tasteful and not very revealing.

"Now Ami," Rei said peremptorily, grinning evilly, "I am going to share with you some trade secrets on how to really knock this guy off his feet. Now, when he leans in for the hot, steamy kiss—"

Ami had been about to sit down, but ended up in missing the chair entirely, landing on the floor. "The what!" she cried, scandalized.

Rei appeared to be enjoying herself as she reiterated, "I said the HOT, STEAMY—"

"I heard you, I heard you," said the poor girl hurriedly. She was seriously reconsidering meeting this dratted "secret admirer" tonight.

Serena giggled slightly. "Calm down, Ami. Now, sit down in that chair and we'll do your makeup. And stop quivering, you like you're about to have a heart attack."

Ami sighed and squeezed her eyes shut as her friends descended on her with bottles and compacts galore. _Much more of these goings-on and I certainly will_.

))))))-((((((

Ami was ready. With mega-watt smiles, her friends escorted her outside where the Porsche awaited her. Mina was with them as well, looking a little less pale and much happier when she saw Ami. "You look as pretty as a spring chicken before she hatches!" she exclaimed, mystifying everyone.

The men, to their annoyance, were left out of everything ("This is our business," Serena had informed her cousin over the phone when he'd said he wanted to come and embarrass the hell out of Ami by taking pictures) and watched from the doorway as Ami and the other girls piled into the car.

They only got a glimpse of the blue-haired girl, but according to Serena (over the phone again) she looked "gorgeous" and that this card sender was a lucky guy indeed.

Once Zoisite had watched the girls drive off, he made his way for the minivan. "Who's coming?" he asked with wickedly gleaming eyes as he drew the keys from his pocket.

"Did YOU send the card then?" Andrew demanded to know as he and the others came up.

Zoisite just grinned and shrugged.

))))))-((((((

Ami nervously clutched the little purse that Mina had lent her as the Porsche drew up to the hotel's main building and she stepped out of the car. The girls had agreed that they would come into the lobby a short while after she entered, giving her time to meet the card sender. The humid night air made her snow white dress to cling to her more than it should have, a fact that bothered her also more than it should have. A solitary breeze brushed at her hair, mussing it a little. She unconsciously fiddled with the clasp of the purse.

Who was it that she was going to see in the lobby? Was it all a practical joke? Was it even a he waiting for her? Couldn't she have sewed up the slit in the dress before coming? Ami inhaled deeply. _I have to calm down. I'm just going to meet somebody, that's all. Nothing out of the ordinary_.

It was amazing how Ami could downplay everything from identity theft to a typhoon.

The final question that came to Ami's mind was one that had been plaguing her since she'd received the card. The image of a blonde, green-eyed man whose cheek dimpled whenever he smiled at her rushed to mind. No, no, it couldn't be.

With a final gulp, Ami walked into the hotel lobby. She gazed around the tastefully decorated area. Suddenly, she stopped at someone sitting on the cream sofa and their eyes locked. She'd found the card sender.

* * *

Hahaha! Cliffhanger, woo! I'm so sadistic and cruel; don't you love me? 

For anyone interested, I think the story will be somewhere around 30 chapters long. That's just an estimate and is subject to change, comprenden?

Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! Apparently, has banned replies to reviewers in stories and, being that I REALLY don't want my account deleted, I won't be replying to all of you anymore except in e-mails.

Psst. Hey, you. Yeah, you. Look down there. See that "Go" button next to the "Submit a review" bar? Press it and you'll just make my day.


	11. The Spies Who Loved Me

Now no one lost it completely— this is an actual update. This is not a test.'Tisa new chapter. Oh joy? It has been an eternity since the last one and I really do apologize. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

"Can you see anything?"

"Hmm, wait, I think I do see something. It's... it's... your elbow! Yes, your elbow seems to be in my eye. Kindly move it out of the way."

"_Now_ can you see anything? Who is he?"

"Quit hopping around, Zoi, you almost jumped on my foo--ouch!"

"I need to get a closer look," Zoisite said.

"No, Zoi, I'm not having you embarass us. Sit _down_ before the whole van collapses. And quit shoving me," ordered Kunzite.

It was at times like these that Nephrite wished he didn't have the keenest eyes of the lot. The men were staking out in front of the hotel lobby, and as its walls were glass, he was stuck with the job of, there was no other way to say it, spying on Ami and her mystery admirer from the van window. And it would have been a much easier task if not for Zoisite.

"Who is he, Nephrite?"

"Jesus Christ Zoi, I don't know. It could be Orlando Bloom for all I care."

"It is!" In scrambling to get a better look, Zoisite accidentally tread on a strand of Nephrite's lovely brown hair.

"NO, now sit down!" Nephrite shouted as he yanked his hair back. Zoisite sat. Nephrite had a white-hot temper, rarely provoked, but when it was, it was best to grab your helmets and take cover. Not to mention that no one messed with the hair.

Andrew, who was at the wheel that night, frowned in puzzlement. "You know, I really thought it was _you_ who sent her that note, Zoisite."

Zoisite tried to shrug nonchalantly, but failed. This whole thing seemed to matter a lot more than it should have. "Naw. I just play around with Ami; I don't want to ask her out or anything."

The others couldn't help looking skeptical.

"And I mean, what kind of love letter was that anyway? 'I would be honored if you'd meet me in the lobby.' This guy doesn't exactly embody romance."

Darien quirked an amused eyebrow at him. "And you do?"

"More so than you," countered Zoisite. "At least _I_ don't insult the girls I like every time I get a glimpse of them."

Darien spluttered. Today just wasn't his day. "I am _far_ from liking her, all right?"

"How did you know I was talking about Serena?"

Darien ignored him, continuing: "And Meatball Head's a pain, what else am I supposed to do?"

"Woo her. Compliment her. That kind of stuff," Zoisite responded simply.

Jadeite's head mysteriously popped out of nowhere. "This is all very enlightening, Zoi. Remind us again what devices you used to seduce that girl on the beach? Or are you going to tell me that that bruise of yours is a hickey?"

Before Zoisite could reply hotly, Andrew exclaimed, "Hey, I didn't see the girls here before. Look, they're running into the lobby."

Everyone turned to see a quartet of young ladies dash inside, nearly bowling the doorman over.

"That's it--I'm not waiting anymore. I'm going in," Zoisite said in a military-worthy tone.

"Zoi, no!" Darien and Kunzite said simultaneously, both lurching to grab Zoisite. But the blonde was too agile and he'd sprung out of the van before they could get him. This resulted in the two men collapsing onto the van floor, Kunzite sprawled on top of Darien.

"Overtealous idgit," Darien muttered into the carpeted floor.

"I couldn't agree with you more."

"After them?" Nephrite asked.

"After them!" Motoki shouted belatedly. "Oh, you said that already. Well, let's go to it then."

"Ma'am, are you all going inside or not?" asked the doorman, his patience wearing thin.

"Shush, I want to hear what they're saying," Rei hissed.

The doorman blinked. This was unorthodox behavior, to say the least. The four girls were crouched in front of the lobby's entrance, peering through the glass wall juxtaposing the front doors. Rei had her ear pressed to the crack between the doors in order to eavesdrop.

"He's pretty cute," Usagi commented.

"And what a nice suit," observed Lita. "He must be loaded."

"Lita!" chided Minako. "How can you be so shallow!"

"Just another thing going for him, not that Ami cares about that," Lita said hurriedly. You had to be careful about what you said about anything concerning love in front of Mina.

"What are they saying, Rei?"

"All I heard was the guy, who said, "Ami, it's been..." Maybe if certain people would stop blabbing away..."

"Okay, okay, everyone shut up now so we can hear."

---

"Ami, it's been so long."

Ami stood shell-shocked before the man, frozen where she was. She watched as he walked towards her. "Taiki."

With a smile, Taiki raised Ami's hand to his lips and the girl suddenly remembered that it was not polite to stare.

"I-I didn't expect to see you here." Well, that was the understatement of the year.

"I know, quite a surprise."

"What _are_ you doing here? You were moving to California last I saw you," Ami said. "We haven't seen each other in--"

"--years. Yes. It's a very long story. I'd rather we talked in my office," he said in his clipped voice.

"Your...office?"

"Yes. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Good. We'll have a fine spread in there. This way."

Ami felt as if she were in a dream. Meeting a ghost from her past had not exactly been on her to-do list. She floated after Taiki, who was looking spruce in his three-piece suit, not one hair out of place. Always so proper. He hadn't changed a bit.

---

"I'm afraid you all will have to leave or I'm calling security," came the doorman's ominous voice.

The girls looked up at the frowning doorman. Sheepishly, they stood up and made as if to back away.

"Look, they're walking away!" shouted Serena.

Like hurricanes, the four girls sped through the door that the relieved doorman held open for them. _Finally,_ he thought, _some peace._

"Keep that door open!"

The doorman whirled around to see a pony-tailed man zip towards him. Zoisite almost knocked him over as he ran into the lobby, catching up with the girls.

Rubbing his shoulder, the doorman said to himself, "I really need another job." He caught sight of the girls' blue-haired friend walking with someone. That someone was Taiki Watanabe. The man couldn't help it: his mouth fell open unbecomingly.

---

The Watanabe men had become something akin to celebrities in Hawaii. Fabulously wealthy, they had emigrated from Japan to Honolulu, while the oldest Watanabe's grandson, Taiki, attended college in California. The two older men had established a chain of hotels, Grand Pacific Towers, across the Polynesian islands. Taiki's grandsire had insisted that Taiki take part in this business venture, and so had made him assistant manager of the Honolulu hotel, while his son took over in Maui and he retreated to Fiji.

The Watanabes had been family friends of the Mizunos before the move. Ami recalled that Taiki, six years her senior, had always been rather stiff and proper, always interested in stocks and such. He seemed no different to Ami as she watched him watch her friends devour the dinner that had been so hastily brought in for them. Yet, there was something that struck her as off-key. Something...

Taiki had told her of how her mother had discovered of the Watanabes and their hotel chain. Dr. Mizuno had contacted them and the plan for Serena's birthday trip had been set into motion. It explained the nice little quirks about their stay. The twin beds in all the rooms, for example. And the lovely, familiar scent that wafted through the villas.

Jasmine, she realized suddenly. That was the scent. Her favorite.

---

"You guys were embarrassing back there," Rei said acidly, particularly glancing at Jadeite. "Don't we feed you?"

"In more ways than one, Rei," returned Jadeite, giving her figure the once over.

Rei promptly crushed his mental images and foot with a stiletto heel.

Darien looked a little guilty. Even _he_ had let himself go at dinner. Serena was sure to have noticed, he thought. The smirk on her face clinched it.

" Chiba was the worst pig of all," she said delightedly.

"I guess you're rubbing off on me, Meatball Head."

"Good thing, too."

"Hey," Andrew said as they entered the men's villa, "where's Nephrite?"

With a mischievous look on her face, Mina said, "Now that you mention it, _where ever_ has that Lita gone to?"

"I'm right here, Mina."

"Oh." The blonde looked rather squashed.

"Seriously, though, where is Nephrite?"

Zoisite chanced a glance out the window. "Sneaky bastard took the Porsche out for a joy ride!"

"The least he could've done was take me with him," grumbled Kunzite as Minako tripped him up in her rush to have a look out the window.

Darien commented, "That's not really like him."

"Neither is doing dirty deeds in the kitchen," Jadeite replied with a grin. He joined Rei, who was sitting on the stairs, undoing the straps of her shoes. After eyeing the heels warily, he said, "Say, Rei."

"What?"

"That girl by the pool. You didn't happen to catch her name, did you?" He turned to wink at Serena, who listened in interest.

"Sure, it was stamped on her forehead. I'll even spell it out for you. S-L-U--"

Jadeite laughed. "Now, Rei, that's kind of harsh."

She looked at him defiantly, a burning gaze that made his body temperature rise.

"No, it's truthful. Girls shouldn't have to 'accidentally' slip their bathing suit straps off to get attention. But considering who she was flaunting herself at, I'm not surprised you fell for it."

"Now, wait," Jadeite said, though he felt a guilty prickling. He _had_ fallen for the trick. "Don't tell me you never 'flaunt' yourself. I should know better than anyone that that wasn't a turtleneck you were wearing on the beach."

"You're comparing me to that redhead?"

"Well, you're both girls, aren't you?"

Rei got to her feet, fists clenched, nails digging into her palms. She was outraged that he counted the pool girl and herself as one and the same. "This is why I can never have any feelings for you beyond disgust. You don't know the first thing about me or girls in general. You expect us all to be the same: ready to throw ourselves at your feet and slip our bathing suits off for you."

"I never--"

But Rei had already stormed out of the villa.

Minako broke the long silence rather inappropriately. "Hey, she forgot her shoes."

"Mwahahaha."

"And she said--"

"Mwahaha."

"Did you hear some--"

"MWAHAHAHA!"

"Aaaagh!" screamed the man, as he tripped over a pair of legs sticking out from a thick bush. He landed on the pavement with a thunk.

"Wha?" was all Anne could splutter before scrambling out of the bush. Deftly, she caught up her binoculars and raced off into the night, leaving a pair of puzzled and considerably disturbed hotel guests behind her.

Some way off, a stunningly shirtless Darien opened the window to his hotel room, peered into the darkness, then shrugged.

* * *

Alright, the problem with this chapter is a)It hasn't beenbeta-ed (Ocianne-san I must have the wrong e-mail address because this chapter didn't get through to you) and b) Anne is being even more stalker-ish than the norm (WHAT AM I COMING TO!). I still hope you found some enjoyment from reading this. Hope you review!


	12. A Clandestine Meeting

_Here it is. I relinquish it willingly. I have excuses for this late update, but I'm sure you'd rather not know about them and would rather just read the chapter. Which I am perfectly willing to allow you to do. Just, enjoy._

* * *

Eyes like warm chocolate alighted on a figure that cast a flickering shadow upon the moonlit path. Loose auburn hair swung freely in the night breeze and he was reminded of the fairy creatures of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. He crept up behind her with surprisingly little noise.

Strong arms encircled her waist and she started with a squeak.

He grinned at her response to his touch. "Nephrite," Lita hissed, tilting her head to look at him, eyes dancing. She felt the flittering of butterflies in her stomach, a sensation aroused every time his fingertips grazed her skin or his hot breath washed across her ear.

To her disappointment, he released her form from his hold and motioned for her to follow him further down the path.

"Why did you tell me to meet you here? And where are we going?" she asked in curiosity as she tailed him. Lita had done as Nephrite told her to do and slipped out of the villa after his departure in the Porsche. He had asked her to meet him near the yellow hyacinths, half an hour after she witnessed his departure.

"Wouldn't you rather it be a surprise?" Nephrite said.

"No," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He grasped her hand and led her off the path and into a sandy area, sheltered by trees. A rope hammock swung between two of the trees.

"Ta-da!" he said, with a flourish of his hands.

"Don't tell me: you bought rope and wove it into a hammock then tied it to these trees with your two bare hands?"

He raised an eyebrow at her imagination. "Um, sure, yeah." He coughed.

Lita thrust her lower lip out, pale and pink and delicious. He couldn't help himself--she was too adorable.

Lita suddenly found herself being swept towards the hammock, and pulled down to sit beside Nephrite.

"Lie down and close your eyes," he commanded.

"Nephrite, this is a public place!" she chided through a smile, though she obediently did as she was told.

"We'll save that for another time," he said suggestively, and she giggled in response.

A sweet perfume suddenly met her senses, suspended in mid-air and causing her to sigh. "Roses," she said without opening her eyes.

"For you." A bouquet of roses, the same shade of pink as her lips, swung over her.

"So that's why you hijacked the Porsche," she said in realization.

"I would only drive a luxurious sports car for you," he told her solemnly.

"I'm sure." She accepted the roses with a smile. "Thank you," she said, meeting his eyes shyly. "I love them."

Nephrite wondered what it was about her gaze that made his heart beat so. He wondered how a single sigh could make him hope to elicit more sighs, more smiles. Never had he tangled himself up with a girl so quickly, disregarding the consequences.

Lita almost purred when his hand cupped her cheek. He was gazing at her so steadily that she felt herself blush. But the brazen side of Lita always managed to shine through. Closing her eyes, she unexpectedly grasped the collar of his shirt and slowly pulled his face closer to hers until mere breaths separated their lips…

RING! RING!

Nephrite's groan was audible and joined by Lita's.

"No comments about my pants ringing," he warned her, seeing the mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Yeah?" he practically growled into the phone, motioning for Lita to keep silent.

* * *

"Ooh, he sounds angry," Jadeite practically giggled, switching his cell phone's speaker phone on.

"Jadeite, I think it's true--you are the spawn of Satan."

"Who says that?"

"Everyone," Mina assured him.

"You mean Rei."

"Maybe."

A torrent of nettled words came streaming from the other end of the phone and Jadeite promptly responded. "Hi Nephy."

"Jadeite, why the hell are you calling me?"

Jadeite suddenly felt ominously unsure of himself. "Um, well, remember how you told me to toss your clothes into the washing machine along with mine?"

"Yes..."

"Well there's a problem and I thought I should come out with it--"

"Over the phone so Nephrite wouldn't be able to beat you into the ground until later," cackled Andrew.

Nephrite's voice filled the room: "Jadeite, I TOLD you what setting to put it on. And you're basically living with five females who are supposed to know how to wash clothes--"

"Six," corrected Jadeite, glancing at the feminine blonde man seated on the couch. Zoisite responded with a pugnacious tongue.

"--how could you still screw that up?" Nephrite demanded. Prior to the trip, Nephrite had succumbed to laziness and decided he could just pack his dirty clothes and wash them in the villa. It came with a washing machine after all and anyone could run a washing machine, right?

"Um, hello, this is Jadeite we're talking about," Zoisite chimed, between bites of potato chips.

After pinning Zoisite with his death ray, Jadeite quickly explained: "See, permanent press, it didn't seem to be the right setting because, I mean, if we wanted to iron the clothes we'd use the iron to press them not the washing machine, right?"

He ignored the moan on the other end.

"So I thought I'd try delicate—" Nephrite sighed in relief "—which did nothing, so I just cranked it up as far as the baby would go."

"Jadeite, this is not hydraulics we're dealing with, it's clothes washing, and I didn't think even you could turn that task into a catastrophe," Nephrite said, trying to keep his voice level.

"Well, I do have my ways...wait, that was an insult."

"Tell him what happened next, Jed," Mamoru urged wickedly.

"Yes, do," said Nephrite. "Now tell me what happened to my clothes, goddamnit."

Jadeite cleared his throat. "Erm well, let's just say you're not going to run out of T-shirts to give your little nephews for Christmas. Ever."

"THEY SHRUNK? I GAVE YOU NEARLY ALL MY CLOTHES TO WASH AND YOU SHRUNK THEM?"

"Well, no, I mean, the jeans are fine but whatever else was cotton..."

"Everything else was cotton!"

Jadeite cringed at the shout.

"It's not the end of the world Neph. Look at the bright side-- at least, your bottom half'll be covered for the rest of our stay, right? And ladies love that bare chest of yours, I'm sure."

"I'm going to overlook that very gay comment and just say that you're forgetting something very crucial."

"What's that?" Jed asked curiously.

"My boxers are made of cotton," the dark-haired man deadpanned.

"Bad, bad, bad mental images," was the last sentence Nephrite heard before hanging up the phone.

* * *

"You are not helping the situation."

Lita had fallen onto the hammock, peals of laughter escaping her, causing the hammock to swing dangerously. Still giggling she rose and met Nephrite's stern gaze.

"Aw, come on; don't tell me you don't find it the least bit funny."

"I don't find it the least bit funny."

"Well, I do," she assured him. "But at least, Jed's in the same boat, right?"

"All Jed did was toss in his swimming trunks, which, I'm sorry to say, are not cotton."

"Unlike your boxers," Lita said, her mouth twitching.

"I am not going to dignify that with a response."

Sighing, he lay on the hammock and Lita did the same, fitting into the crook of his arm. 

She rolled her eyes. "Male pride."

Nephrite mimicked her actions. "Women."

Instead of smiling at this, Lita's brow creased. "Nephrite, what was it you said to Jadeite? That females are supposed to know how to clean clothes?"

"Well, they are," he said absently, as he stared up at the stars. The scent of tropical flowers wove its way through his senses and he began to feel drowsy.

"Oh? And I suppose all females are supposed to know how to be perfect little housewives?"

He didn't catch the dangerous edge in her voice as he yawned slightly. "Mmhmm," he agreed.

With every word he spoke, Lita felt her stomach sink and her anger grow. She could _feel_ the feminist in her roar. A sickened tremor ran through her.

"Even your wife?" she said, hoping he would redeem himself with a negative answer.

"Especially."

With a stifled shriek, Lita suddenly leapt from the hammock. The hammock, not being accustomed to being used so violently, flipped over and deposited Nephrite into the sand with an "oomph!"

"I never thought it of you, Nephrite, but...oooh!" Words failed her. Lita grabbed the roses and stalked off, leaving Nephrite to spit a pint of sand from his mouth and wonder at the volatility of women.

* * *

Mina slipped into bed, glancing at the digital clock that sat between the two beds. Lita had been gone for exactly nineteen minutes. Someone had some 'splainin to do. She seized her brush and just as its teeth met with a snarl in her honey-gold hair, a knock came at the door.

"I'm decent," she called.

"I should hope so," said Zoisite as his head poked in.

Mina shook her head with a smile and motioned for him to sit on Lita's bed. "Sit. Talk. I'm dying to give advice."

"Who said I need advice?" he asked defensively.

"Hands shoved into pockets. Biting of the lip." She indicated each sign as she spoke. "All that's missing is the peace offering. Preferably oozing with chocolate and calories." Her eyes glinted at him and he raised his eyebrows.

"You scare me sometimes," he said, pulling a slightly squished Ding Dong out of his pocket and tossing it to her. "It was my last one, too," he said with some forlornness. She gurgled happily as she peeled the plastic off the treat.

"Is the Great Mina satisfied?"

"For now," she replied. "So here are the facts: Ami has been reacquainted with one Taiki, tall, handsome, and single. He seems interested in her and their quiet discussions at dinner lead one to believe that something besides friendship may be brewing."

"Um, yeah..." Zoisite fidgeted under Mina's gaze. His little sister's surprising fountain of knowledge could be very disconcerting. "Wait, you really think he's handsome?"

"Yup. And Ami probably knows it too. Now as I was saying--"

"Even better looking than me?" he said in disbelief.

"Does the word 'vanity' mean anything to you?"

"I_ knew_ Mom was lying when she said your middle name was Joanie," he said triumphantly.

She cringed at the appellation. "Focus, man. We were talking about Ami and the possibility that she might really like Taiki."

Zoisite sat quietly, jealousy creeping up on him. When Ami had initially received the note, he had been anything but worried. Now, however, knowing the man who had sent the note, knowing that Ami knew and liked him...

"Well, whatever."

"What?" Mina widened her eyes at him.

"It can't matter. I've been flirting with Ami for so long and it hasn't done me any good. Why would Taiki get any farther?" These utterances were more for assuring himself than Mina.

"Well, you and he are a little different, dear," Mina said gently. "And if you really believed what you were saying you wouldn't have come to me."

Zoisite sighed. "What do I do then?"

"Figure something out." Zoisite waited expectantly. "Do you really deserve her anymore than Taiki does?"

His mouth fell open. "Wha--"

Mina patted his shoulder. "I know all there is to know about crushes and flings and love, Zoisite. So much that I surprise myself." He muttered something about her abounding modesty but she ignored him. "But even I don't know if you really, truly feel something for Ami. And if you find you don't..." she trailed off.

Zoisite stood up abruptly. He studied his sister, who was finishing off her Ding Dong and meeting his eyes with unusual seriousness. "What about Kunzite?"

Solemnly, Mina said, "Whatever feelings you may have for Kunzite will have to be pushed aside. You really need to learn to be a one-girl man Zoi. Or is it a one-man girl? I never know--" Mina squealed as her brother unmercifully pummeled her with a pillow.

"I meant what about you and Kunzite?" Zoisite questioned, sitting back down. "Do you 'really, truly feel something' for him?"

He was astonished to see her blush. She lowered her eyes to her hands and began to fiddle with a thread in the comforter. "Yes."

Zoisite ducked his head to look into her face and was met with shining blue eyes. Unconvinced he may have been before, but now...Zoisite had never seen his sister look quite like that.

At that moment, the door was flung open. A red-faced Lita stomped into the bedroom, brandishing a battered bouquet of roses.

Zoisite jumped to his feet, bidding Mina and Lita a (wary) good night.

"What's up?" Mina asked. "Did you and Nephrite have--"

Lita's gritted her teeth as she commanded: "Don't talk to me about me and Nephrite or Nephrite alone or, or..." She flung the roses into the trash can.

Mina sat upright, distressed. "Lita, what happened, hon?"

"Men are pigs," Lita said unhappily.

"Of course they are," Mina said soothingly. "Now tell me what happened."

* * *

"Wow, Nephrite, tell me they threw in a free toothbrush or something," Andrew said in awe as Nephrite stumbled into the living room. A mountain of cotton apparel was balanced precariously in his arms, completely hiding his head from view. "Where'd you get all this from?"

"I have discovered the Family Dollar," Nephrite said reverently. "Well, aren't you going to help me?"

Jadeite blinked at him. "Why?" he said, preferring to watch Nephrite trip on the lamp cord and be buried alive by Fruit of the Loom merchandise.

Nephrite growled. "Do not speak to me, you cotton demolisher."

"Now, Nephrite no need to use that, uh, kind of language. Here hand me some," said Andrew and Nephrite willingly did so.

Upstairs, Kunzite and Zoisite came out from their respective bedrooms and stared over the railing. Only Darien slept peacefully in his room.

"Did you remember to buy your, er, unmentionables, Nephrite?" Kunzite asked dispassionately.

"Not only did he remember, he must have stumbled upon a twenty for the price of one sale," Jadeite said, staring at them all in wonder.

"Oh, shut up and help Andrew. By the way," Nephrite slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, "this is what you owe me for the clothes."

Jadeite tamely accepted the receipt, still feeling guilty about the incident. However, his eyes bulged once they fell on the total and he made as if to protest violently only to see that Nephrite had slipped off, chuckling quietly as he went.

* * *

"Hey Nephrite, could I borrow your headphones? I can't find mine."

The brown-haired man looked up to see Andrew standing in the doorway of the bedroom he shared with Kunzite. "Sure, but why do you need them at this hour?

"My dad bought me these motivational tapes so I can be a more 'disciplined and shrewd businessman.'

"Wow, taking the business seriously, are we?"

"They're all that can put me to sleep," Andrew finished.

"Oh." Nephrite rummaged through his backpack and plucked them out. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Andrew said gratefully, then retreated down the stairs.

"So where have you been?" Kunzite asked.

Nephrite hesitated. "Uh, well I went to that little marketplace and bought some roses."

Kunzite nodded. "Really leaping into this romancing business, aren't you?"

His roommate sighed. He decided that it would be best to lay the bare facts before Kunzite. "I was. But, I met Lita and led her to that hammock we spotted earlier and—"

Kunzite put up his hand. "You're free to keep the details to yourself. Really."

Nephrite grinned. "I wish. No, she ended up yelling at me and flinging me to the ground so that I swallowed a few pints of sand."

"That bad?"

"That bad."

Kunzite looked thoughtful. He laid down the thick text he'd been reading and said, "Do you think it's for the best?"

Nephrite sat up straight. "What do you mean? You think she ended it?" he asked in distress. He had thought it would all blow over quickly, but if Kunzite thought differently there might be cause for alarm.

"It…_does_ seem that way," the older man admitted, "but only Lita can say for sure."

"I'll have to talk to her."

"It would be best."

Nephrite's head lay cradled in the pillow as Kunzite switched off the lamp light. Doubts flooded his mind. They attacked every nerve in his being and he remembered the look on Lita's face, the shock, the accusation._   
_

_It can't end like this, _he thought decisively.

* * *

"Then you're really going through with this?" Serena whispered into the telephone, careful not to wake Rei. "Yeah, she was pretty upset, but hopefully she'll have cooled down by tomorrow." The phone buzzed as the person on the other line asked her something. "Sure, hold on. I had to interrogate Taiki but he finally forked it over when I explained the "reason". And uh, Ami's in on it too because she had to come up with a good, plausible lie. Yeah I know, who would have thought it of her, huh?" Serena read something off from a napkin. Then she said. "I'm here to help, okay?"

"Yeah thank a bunch," Jadeite said under his breath. "Alright, good night."

"Who was that?" Zoisite murmured from his bed.

Negligently, Jadeite said, " Oh, just Serena." Then after a pause…"Zoisite! You were awake the whole time?"

"Define the phrase, 'the whole time'."

"As in the whole time I was talking to Serena?"

"Um…yeah pretty much the whole time." Zoisite smiled innocuously. "Am I part of the plan now?"

"Christ," Jadeite muttered into his hand.

"What was that?"

"Um…Yeis?"

"Yeis?" Zoisite raised a golden eyebrow.

"It's Greek. For yes."

"Jadeite did you forget that I'm minoring in the Classics, which means Latin and _Greek _literature and studied abroad in Greece for a semester?"

"Right, so you would know all about how 'yeis' translates into 'yes,'" Jadeite said, not missing a beat. "Good night." The golden-haired college student curled into his sheets like a caterpillar nestling into its cocoon.

Only moonlight had illuminated the room for a time so, through the semi-darkness, Zoisite's voice said, "You know you're going to have to clue me in, right?

A grunt filtered through the comforter.

"And I won't hesitate to divulge your secrets to a certain, how shall I say it, 'beautiful, raven-haired goddess whose lips are soft as rosebuds…etc. etc."

"That's not what I called her when I talked about her this morning," Jadeite said in slight alarm, poking his head out from under the covers.

"No, that's what you called her last night in your sleep. I thought you'd NEVER stop."

"Oh. Wait, wait, back up," the other man said suddenly. "You mean you're going to tell Rei everything if you don't get in on this (that sounds wrong)? Are you…blackmailing me?" Jadeite demanded.

"Now, how could you think that of me, your nearest and dearest friend and companion, your childhood playmate?" Zoisite affected an affronted tone as he spoke.

"Uh, trust me, it's not too hard."

"Well then my answer to your question is yeis, my friend I am blackmailing you. Now on to the plan…"

* * *

_Zoi's so devious. You have to love him. Just like I have to love reviews. It's in the fanfiction author manual, I swear._


	13. A Lot is Uncovered

So I never really thought I'd start this again. What with university and summer programs and the fact that I wasn't sure this story was even worth continuing, it seemed to be on an infinite hiatus. Then a few days ago, I just...wrote. And this is the result.

I know it's been an eternity, and I'm not sure this story even has a following anymore, but if you read it and you want more, PLEASE review! Happy reading!

---

Kunzite groaned aloud from the comfort of his twin bed. He found though, that the plaintive sound wouldn't drive away the persistent knocking on his door.

"No," he grumbled, pulling the covers over his head. It was probably Zoisite wanting to borrow hairspray ("What the hell, Zoi, remind me again _why _you aren't you living in the girls' villa?") or Jadeite asking for another pummeling.

Nephrite, a heavy sleeper, didn't even stir. The knocking continued, of course, so finally Kunzite rose and opened the door. "What?" he barked.

The golden-haired beauty at the door didn't cringe, though she appeared to be on the verge of doing so. "I, uh, I--could we talk?" Mina finally blurted out.

By this time Kunzite's sleepy vision had focused enough to realize that the blonde he had pseudo-saved was standing at his door asking to talk.

"I suppose 'talk' is some euphemism for something else in your language?"

She shook her head, not even rising to the half-veiled insult. "No, I just want to talk. And walk. I can do both at the same time, you know," she said in a solemn tone.

The corner of Kunzite's mouth twitched at this. "New trick?"

Minako couldn't help winking up at him. "Like they say, you can always teach an old gerbil new tricks right?"

The silver-haired man shook his head in disbelief. "Uhm, right. Let me grab my shoes."

**

"So basically, I'm really sorry. Like reallyy sorry." She and her companion walked side-by-side, with her trailing her hand over the hedges and him keeping his hands clasped behind his back.

"I'm sorry, how sorry was that?" Kunzite couldn't help teasing in his monotone voice. He paused mentally, slightly confused at this semi-joke. He realized that it was too easy to become comfortable with this Mina. Strange.

Mina immediately swatted his arm, which she found to be exceedingly strong and muscular. The whole of him was strong and muscular, actually..._Stop thinking like that, Mina. Focus._

"The thing is, I'm just...Well, let's put it this way: Zoisite says if I had a trademark movie it would be 'She Gets What She Wants.'"

Kunzite glanced over at this girl who was probably a foot shorter than him. "Kind of scary."

She shrugged her shoulders delicately. "I suppose. To be honest you're the first guy who's just flat out turned me down. And that kept egging me on and on until I pulled that 'save me, I'm drowning' stunt. So, in short, I'm sorry I've been scheming to make you fall for me."

"And you'll stop?"

Mina paused here, and looked the man straight into his silvery green eyes. "I'll stop the scheming anyway."

"But...?"

"I still want you to fall for me," she said bluntly, bright blue eyes practically glued to his emerald ones as if hers existed only to look into his.

Kunzite blinked at this abrupt confession. After a few moments of processing, he slowly replied. "That's not happening Mina. You don't even know me that well."

"So, I'll get to know you," she spouted without missing a beat.

"Look, there isn't any reason for you to like me--it's clearly all in your head."

"Kunzite, when you saved me--or thought you did, I know it wasn't my head telling me you were crazy concerned."

This touched a nerve, probably because it was completely true. "I would have been concerned whomever it had been," he said defiantly. "Besides, you're just a kid, really, and I don't need some girly--"

"I'm 18."

"Yes, well congratulations. You're passably pretty, I'll grant you that--" he could have sworn she gave a 'humph' at this admission-"but otherwise, I don't find you attractive in that way."

Mina was silent.

Fired up now, Kunzite continued: "You might think you can 'get to know me,' but I don't really want to get to know you."

Her eyes widened a little.

Damn that had been harsh, he realized too late, wishing he could take it back. And yet he didn't and just kept running off his stupid mouth. "I, uh, I didn't come here to deal with some girly infatuation. I just want some peace."

More silence, and it was unnerving.

He finally wrapped it up. "I'm not interested in a relationship right now. Thanks."

With that brusque comment and 'thank you' as if he'd just turned down a business deal, he walked away.

And instead of feeling relieved about apologizing, Mina just felt a little emptier inside.  
***

"Ami, you're dressing up by choice, _again_?" Serena asked in awe. Although none of the girls had really seen Taiki since that first uncomfortable dinner, the man kept spiriting their Ami off with him to hotel banquets and functions. It was clear he felt something for her, and it really did seem that Ami reciprocated, but...Serena realized Ami hadn't even said whether she did or not.

Anyway, what about Zoisite? Was that going to go nowhere? Serena determined to find out.

As the wheels turned in Serena's mind, Ami replied to her question. "Erm, yes I am; Taiki asked me to a business lunch out at the same waterfall park all of you are going to today. But I can't seem to find my blue summer dress--"

"Oh screw the blue dress. Here, take--" She rummaged through Rei's closet without a twinge of guilt and pulled out a strapless white and red paisley dress.

She tossed it to Ami who bemusedly caught it. "Um, thanks but shouldn't we actually ask Rei?"

Serena shrugged. "Sure. HEY REEII!"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT ODANGO!" yelled back a voice from the kitchen.

"CAN AMI BORROW YOUR SLUTTY PAISLEY DRESS?"

"YEAH FINE. AND IT'S NOT SLUTTY!"

Serena nodded with a smile of satisfaction on her face. Uncertainly, Ami looked down at the questionably revealing dress, then shrugged, deciding to wear a cardigan over it to be safe.

"Lame," was Serena's response when Ami walked in in the finalized outfit. "And tell me you're not wearing those tatty flip flops." Her blue-haired friend lowered her gaze to said shoes: "What's wrong with them?"

"Hon, I'm sorry to pick on you, but you need heels--badly. I have some ones that match, but..." She glanced into her closet. "I may have snuck them into Jadeite's suitcase when he wasn't looking."

"Oh Serena," Ami chided.

"What, mine was full. Besides, he had the room. Run over and get them," Serena more or less ordered her friend, ushering her out the door.

**  
Nephrite and Jadeite appeared in the girl's kitchen a minute after Ami had left her villa. There they found Rei and Lita preparing a picnic lunch of BLT's and snacks.

"Jeez, you'd think you girls were feeding an army," Jadeite remarked upon seeing the mountain of sandwiches.

"Nope, worse--we're feeding you guys," Lita teased.

"Can we help?" Nephrite offered.

The brunette didn't answer for a moment. Without looking at him she said, "No worries; we _women_ are in charge of this kind of stuff, right?" she said brightly, before shoving the heavy basket into Nephrite's arms and going out the door. Rei raised her eyebrows at the same time as Jadeite, but followed.

Jadeite looked over at Nephrite. "What the hell did you do?"

Nephrite shook his head, forgetting that since Jadeite had shrunken all his clothes he had decided to play the "I am deaf to all Jadeite says" game. "I'm not really sure..."

Rei, who had caught this last bit as she exited, raised her eyes to the ceiling for patience. God, boys were stupid.

**  
Meanwhile, Ami had swiped into the men's villa (the girls now had access, but not-so-surprisingly the boys still could not enter the girls' villa). She reached Zoisite and Jadeite's room and knocked timidly, hoping to find only Jadeite.

"Come in!" urged a voice from inside.

Ami would never tell the girls what happened next, though truth be told it would play in her mind continuously for the next few days...(even weeks/months).

It really wasn't a big deal, she'd tell herself later. It was a sincere accident, and could have happened with any of the the other men. And though Ami, in that case, would have turned a little pink and apologized, it wouldn't have mattered much.

Except...except in this case it did matter, and a little too much. And that was what frustrated her to no end.

Upon entering the room, Ami realized that Jadeite was nowhere to be found. Actually, upon entering the room, Ami completely forgot she had come to see Jadeite.

Hell, she forgot Jadeite or anyone besides Zoisite even existed.

It said a good deal about her self-control that the first thing she noticed was his hair, tousled from towel-drying, but dripping still, dark gold strands hanging over his face, some plastered to his graceful neck and broad shoulders.

Besides his hair, he wasn't clad in much else-- except a towel slung around his hips. Correction: a towel slung _dangerously_ loose about his slim hips. As for the rest of him...what was there to say except that it glistened with water, was bare, sculpted and more or less gorgeous.

She vaguely heard a throat clearing, breaking into her fog-covered thoughts. With effort, she looked up, eyes still wide like a deer's.

Zoisite wore an amused smile. "Hey, Ami. Did you need something?" No remarks about her staring, about how rude and uncomfortable it was. And no attempts at flirting though really, his bare chest did enough of the tempting.

"I uh, I needed to look at a chest--I mean suitcase!" she corrected wildly. Her cheeks were on fire. Her whole body was blushing by now.

Zoisite nodded patiently as if the words that had come out of her mouth actually made sense. "Jadeite's suitcase? I think I heard him bitching about Serena putting her shoes in it. Aw, don't tell me they actually _are_ Serena's and not his?" he said lightly.

"Um, y-yes. But I'll just go."

Instead of stopping her, Zoisite nodded again. Later (when her brain had returned from their vacation in the Bahamas) she would realize that he was the patient and mature one in this case. Whereas she...just babbled. "How 'bout I find them for you and bring them over to the car?"

"Ok..."

"By the way, you look really nice," he complimented with simple sincerity, though he internally gritted his teeth, knowing she was going out with Taiki again.

This was too much for Ami. Having a little trouble breathing, Ami inclined her head and fairly zoomed out of the room.

**  
The gang crowded into two cars once more for the day trip to the waterfall park. Unsurprisingly, a tussle between Darien and Serena delayed their leaving.

"Sorry, Meatball Head, I'd like to get to the park alive so _I'm_ driving."

"You drove it last time! And I'll have you know I'm a great driver!"

"Bumper cars don't count."

Zoisite rolled his eyes in Andrew's direction. "Does either of them even know that I have the keys?" he said, trying to be heard over Serena's: "I'VE DRIVEN A REAL CAR BEFORE!"

Andrew shook his head in amusement. "Sneak in and start her up before they tackle each other," he advised.

Pause. "What are you doing?" Andrew demanded as Zoisite stood stock-still, not even attempting to get into the Porsche.

"I kind of want to see them tackle each other..."

**  
Rei found herself once again squashed against Jadeite in the car, but managed to somehow angle her body so she could only see Mina, who sat on her other side.

"You look down," she said bluntly. "What's going on?"

The normally bright-face girl only shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Okay, seriously Mina, I'm not liking this Edward Scissorhands persona; it kind of freaks me out. At least tell me later."

"Yeah, okay." The blonde glanced over at Kunzite, who occupied the passenger seat of the van. Noticing this and, unsurprised that Kunzite was the root of the problem, Rei shook her head.

Loudly, just as Jadeite was about to coyly sling an arm around her shoulders, Rei announced: "Man, am I sick of boys."

The three males in the car all shot her pointed looks, while the girls had to fight to burst out laughing.

Needless to say, Jadeite kept his hands to himself. Anyhow, Rei would be singing another tune soon enough, he mused evilly.

**

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